Israel-Hamas Ceasefire: A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas started on Friday as announced by Qatar on Thursday. Civilian hostages and Palestinian prisoners are slated to be released later in the afternoon, as the ceasefire commenced at 7 am local time. The spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry, Majed Al-Ansari, said that 13 women and children captives are set to be freed at 4 pm. Al-Ansari also mentioned that the list of those to be released has been shared with the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad.
The truce will follow a comprehensive ceasefire in both north and south Gaza. This will be followed by the release of some of the over 200 hostages held by Hamas since their October 7 attack, which was backed by Iran. Meanwhile, aid trucks started to enter the Gaza Strip from Egypt on Friday, around 1 1/2 hours after a truce began between Israel and Palestinian Hamas fighters.
"These will be complicated days and nothing is certain. Even during this process, there could be changes. Control over northern Gaza is the first step of a long war, and we are preparing for the next stages,” Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said before the truce started.
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Top Updates:
1. Qatar announced a truce between Israel and Hamas, set to begin at 7 am local time, the ceasefire will remain in both north and south Gaza for the next four days, according to the foreign ministry.
2. Amid the ongoing conflict, Israeli jets targeted over 300 locations, with heavy bombing around the Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza, just before the expected truce at 7 am local time.
3. Aid, including fuel, is expected to flow into Gaza today amid the release of the first group of hostages by 4 pm local time, as per Qatar ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari.
4. An Indonesian hospital in Gaza City reported continuous bombing, operating without light, and beds full of injured Gazans including children.
5. Gaza's Nasser hospital, supported by Doctors Without Borders, faces an overflow of patients and families seeking shelter, reported Reuters.
6. Israel detained Muhammad Abu Salamiya, the chief of Gaza's largest hospital, Al Shifa, alleging its use as a Hamas command centre.
7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to continue the war after the truce, aiming to destroy Hamas's military capabilities, end its 16-year rule in Gaza, and free 240 hostages. His comments came as the country agreed to the ceasefire.
8. Hezbollah fired 48 Katyusha rockets from southern Lebanon, triggering air-raid sirens in northern Israel.
9. Turkey's health ministry announces plans to evacuate wounded or sick Gaza children and young people on Friday.
10. The conflict's toll stands at 14,500 lives lost since Hamas entered Israeli towns on October 7, initiating the ongoing war, with Israel responding with a devastating invasion of the Gaza Strip and imposing restrictions on fuel, electricity, and water supply in the strip.
11. Over the next four days, a total of 50 hostages are scheduled to be released, along with Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.