Iran has warned flames of war will spread across the Middle East if the Israeli truce with Hamas is not extended. 

The chilling statement was made by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday for at least four days to let in aid and free at least 50 hostages held by militants in the Palestinian enclave – in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel.

Israeli families are now waiting in anguish to see if their children will be coming home tomorrow, with Hamas terrorists set to reveal the names of the ten hostages who will be released during the temporary ceasefire tonight.

Israel last night agreed a deal that will see 50 women and children kidnapped by Hamas gunmen on October 7 freed during the truce. 

Soldiers during a military operation in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas

Israeli soldiers stand near the opening to a tunnel at Al Shifa Hospital compound in Gaza City

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on a house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday 

Palestinian mourners attend the funeral of six Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces

The process of recovering the first group of hostages is expected to start tomorrow at 10am (8am GMT), according to Egyptian media reports. Some have suggested it could happen even earlier at 7am local time. Israel is yet to confirm the time.

The relatives of the hostages have been waiting in torment, not knowing if their loved ones will be among those released tomorrow.

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But for some, that agonising wait is set to come to an end tonight after it emerged that Hamas terrorists will be providing Israel with the names of the ten hostages set to be released tomorrow via the Red Cross, reports Israel National News. 

On Friday and Saturday, ten hostages will be released each day, while a further 20 will be released on Sunday – the last day of the ceasefire, according to reports.

But anguished relatives of the hostages fear that Hamas cannot be trusted, with one exhausted family member saying the terrorists will ‘do everything they can to ruin the deal’.

Yosi Shnaider, whose cousin Shiri, 30, was abducted with her four-year-old son Ariel and ten-month-old son Kfir, told the BBC he was concerned the deal might not go ahead. ‘I try to be realistic and I know who we’re dealing with. They will do everything they can to ruin even this deal and I’m scared,’ he said. 

Palestinian children wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are treated at al Aqsa Hospital on Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Tuesday

A Palestinian child wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip is treated at al Aqsa Hospital on Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Tuesday 

And Israeli politician Ben Gvir said the release of the hostages sets a ‘dangerous precedent’ that could play into the hands of the terrorists. The far-Right politician said the deal, which will see 150 Palestinians released in exchange for 50 hostages, gives Hamas terrorists everything they wanted.

‘Hamas wanted this truce more than anything,’ Gvir said on Twitter. ‘It also wanted to get ‘rid’ of the women and children in the first stage, because they caused international pressure on it. It wanted to get, in exchange, fuel, the release of terrorists, halting IDF action and even a [reconnaissance] flight ban. It got all of those.’

He also slammed the deal for not securing the release of all hostages held in Gaza, branding it ‘immoral, illogical and very far from enough’ while saying it ‘could and should have been different’.

Yet some of the families of the kidnapped women and children say they are ‘very happy’ with the deal, as they wait in anguish to find out who out of their loved ones will be returning home.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.