In a very surprising move, a senior Hamas official tells NBC that the 199 hostages held by Hamas will be released in an hour if Israel stops bombing Gaza and agrees to a cease-fire.

The Hamas official said the hostages could be released within the hour as long as Israel meets its terms. He claimed that there is no safe place to release the hostages now.

In exchange for the release of Israeli soldiers held hostage, the Hamas official said Israel must release all Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

The Hamas official also claimed that the U.S. and Israel are already aware of its terms for the release of civilian hostages, because the militant group revealed them in its conversations with the leaders of several Arab countries.

There is no indication of whether Israel has verified this claim, let alone is taking it into consideration as they continue to amass their forces on the Gaza border, in what looks for intents and purposes as the prelude to a full-scale ground invasion of the Gaza strip. 

This is a breaking story, and we will update you as soon as new information becomes available.