(NewsNation) — Israel and Hamas agreed with one temporary ceasefire About 50 hostages taken by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack will be released on Tuesday.

People all over the world have been waiting and protesting for this, and now it’s finally happening.

In exchange for the hostagesIsrael agreed to suspend its air and ground operations in the region for at least four days.

As part of the deal, 150 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, will be released from Israeli prisons, Hamas said. The agreement also allows humanitarian aid and fuel for civilians in Gaza.

The Israeli government announced that Hamas would release 50 of its approximately 240 hostages over the course of these four days, initially women and children. The ceasefire would then be extended by another day for every ten hostages released.

The big question remains who will be released. The hostage families have no idea and can only hold on to the hope that it will be their loved ones.

“On the one hand, I’m happy. Secondly, I’m worried. Okay, because no one told me that my family would be involved in this deal,” said Gilad Korngold, who has seven missing family members who are believed to have been taken to Gaza as hostages by Hamas.

Three Americans — two women and a child who will soon be four years old — could potentially be among those originally released.

As for the timing, the pause is expected to take effect within 24 hours, with the release of the hostages expected to begin on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that the pause would not end the war.

“There is a lot of nonsense talking outside, as if we will end the war after we stop releasing the hostages. I want to be clear: we are at war and we will keep fighting, keep fighting until we achieve all our goals,” he said.

It was Israel and the USA in discussions for weeks, with Qatar acting as a mediator in the talks with Hamas. Around 240 people were taken hostage in the attack on October 7th, and 33 of those held are believed to be children. Many of those detained are too Foreigners or dual citizens who have a passport from other countries.

Hamas had previously released four hostages: an American mother and daughterJudith and Natalie Raanan, and two older Israeli women, Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85. Israeli special forces rescued a sixth hostage, a military member, Pvt. Ori Megidish. Two hostages, 19-year-old soldier Noa Marciano and 65-year-old Yehudit Weiss, were found dead by Israeli forces.

Previous efforts to reach an agreement have failed. President Joe Biden and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani expressed optimism There have been indications in recent days that the deal is on the horizon, although Israeli leaders remained more cautious in their statements leading up to the announcement of the final agreement.

The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.