Qatar has been holding talks with Hamas on releasing Israeli women and children who were captured in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails, according to Reuters.

The source told the agency that “talks are moving positively” but no breakthrough yet.

Meanwhile, Xinhua Agency reported that Hamas has informed Qatar that it does not object to a prisoner exchange deal with the occupying Israeli regime that includes the release of all Palestinian female prisoners and that Qatar was mediating an urgent prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel.

Earlier, the Israeli defence minister said that Gaza Strip was to go under “total blockade”, including a ban on admitting food and fuel, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, has announced a “complete siege” of Gaza, saying authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel.

The battle between the Israeli forces and Hamas started following a barrage of more than 2,000 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip on October 7. Hamas launched its most significant attack on Israel in years, infiltrating regions in the south of the country, according to local media and medical professionals.

It is pertinent to mention that Gaza has been under a crippling air, land, and sea blockade since 2007.

Meanwhile, the military wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, said that four Israeli soldiers and multiple group fighters were killed due to Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip as heavy pounding by the Israeli military continued in Gaza in retaliation to Hamas’s infiltration and attacks into its territory.

The battle continued between Israeli forces and Hamas for the third day after Hamas infiltrated Israel-occupied territories by land, air, and sea, killing around 700 Israelis and taking dozens hostage.

In retaliation, Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza resulting in the killing of at least 400 people and wounding over 2,000, the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said.

Read: Timeline of conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza

The Israeli attacks flattened residential buildings in giant explosions, including a 14-storey tower, that held dozens of apartments in central Gaza city.

In southern Israel, Hamas gunmen were still fighting Israeli security forces 24 hours after a surprise, multi-pronged assault to send hundreds of fighters into nearby towns.