The four-day cease-fire began at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Friday.
The temporary cease-fire agreed to by Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect early Friday morning, paving the way for an expected hostage release-prisoner swap later that day.
The four-day cease-fire will put an end to fighting and allow for promised humanitarian aid to reach Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, who have been subjected to weeks of violence since Hamas-led forces carried out the worst terror attack in Israel’s 75-year history, taking hundreds of hostages back across the border on Oct. 7.
The cease-fire went into effect at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT). During this time, Hamas has committed to release at least 50 of the approximately 240 hostages it and other terrorists kidnapped on Oct. 7. According to Hamas, Israel will release 150 Palestinian detainees in a three-to-one hostage ratio.
The truce-for-hostages agreement will begin with both parties agreeing to release women and children. Israel announced the cease-fire would be prolonged by one day for every ten hostages freed.
Related Posts
The agreement was struck after weeks of rigorous negotiations, with Qatar, the US, and Egypt serving as mediators. It is the first substantial truce since Israel launched war on Hamas seven weeks ago. Previous cease-fires have been broken before their scheduled termination date.
According to Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari, the first batch of 13 women and children imprisoned by Hamas will be released Friday afternoon.
The Israeli Justice Ministry announced a list of 300 convicts eligible for parole, the majority of them were arrested in the previous year. On Friday, Hamas is likely to reveal a similar list of Israeli hostages.
As the combat has ceased, supplies will be delivered to Palestinians in Gaza “as soon as possible,” according to al-Ansari.
Hamas has stated that 200 trucks per day will enter Gaza providing relief, including food, water, and fuel, but has not specified the quantity.
The wider goal, according to a spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry, is that the “momentum” from the cease-fire will lead to a “end to this violence.”
However, after the truce ends, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities as well as its control over Gaza.
This would put an end to Hamas’ 16-year control in Gaza. Netanyahu has also stated repeatedly that all of the estimated 240 detainees held in Gaza by Hamas and other groups will be released to Israel.
“We will keep doing it until we achieve all of our objectives,” Netanyahu stated.
Earlier this week, in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Netanyahu stated that Israel was dedicated to winning the battle against Hamas in order to destroy their “dark tyranny” in the Gaza Strip.
“We must win not only for ourselves but also for the sake of the Middle East and our Arab neighbors.” “You know what? For the sake of Gazans who have been imprisoned by this dark tyranny that has brutalized them and brought them nothing but bloodshed, poverty, and misery,” Netanyahu remarked on Monday. “We must win in order to protect Israel.” We must prevail in order to protect the Middle East. For the sake of the enlightened world, we must win. That is the conflict we are engaged in, and it is taking place right now.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was cited as telling troops Thursday that the conflict would restart with vigour for at least two months, adding fuel to expectations that the temporary truce would terminate the fighting.
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, more than 13,300 Palestinians have been murdered, with no distinction made between civilians and fighters.
Israel claims to have killed thousands of Hamas fighters, but no specific data have been supplied.
