The White House says that it is in possession of information indicating that the Russian armed Wagner Group is working to provide air defense capabilities to either Hezbollah or Iran, at the direction of the Russian government.

The White House said on Tuesday that the Russian armed Wagner Group is preparing to strengthen the air defenses of Lebanese Hezbollah or the regime in Tehran, as part of “unprecedented defense cooperation” between the two rivals of the United States.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, “Our information...indicates that Wagner, under the direction of the Russian government, was preparing to provide an air defense capability to either Hezbollah or Iran.”

Regarding the prisoner exchange deal, Kirby said: “We are closer than ever. We believe we are getting closer.” He added, "We will not say, nor do we want to say, anything in these sensitive hours that would expose the agreement to greater danger."

This comes as an American official confirmed that Hamas and Israel are close to reaching an agreement that includes the movement’s release of 50 hostages, most of them women and children, in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners and a truce for four.

The official said that there is a preliminary agreement, but it is not final until everything is agreed upon. "We believe we are very close to reaching an agreement. There is still a lot of work to be done, and approval still needs to be obtained," he added.

"We think we are very close," he added.

In turn, US President Joe Biden announced today that an agreement to release some Israeli hostages in Gaza is “very close.”

He told reporters at the White House, "My team is moving between the capitals of the region. We are now very close to returning some of these hostages to their homeland very soon. But I do not want to go into details until the matter is finished."

"When we have more to say, we will," he added.

Biden's optimistic comments echo statements in the region in this regard. The Hamas leader said that a truce agreement with Israel was imminent, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that he hoped to get good news soon regarding the hostages.

On a daily basis since October 8, the Israeli army has exchanged sporadic bombardments with Hezbollah and Palestinian factions in Lebanon, leaving dead and wounded on both sides of the border.

These confrontations continue in the wake of a war waged by the Israeli army for 46 days on the Gaza Strip. So far, it has resulted in the martyrdom of 14,128 Palestinian martyrs, including more than 5,840 children and 3,920 women, in addition to more than 33,000 injured, 75% of whom are children and women, according to the government media office in Gaza.