The four-day truce between Israel and Hamas came into effect in the early hours of Friday, and the release of the first batch of hostages is expected to take place in the evening in return for 39 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails.
A spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry said that the first group of 13 Israeli hostages would be released at 4 pm (local time). The Israeli Prime Minister's Office also confirmed that it has received an initial list of names and the families of the hostages set to return have been informed of the situation, reported The Times of Israel.
According to the deal brokered by Qatar and the US, Hamas would set free 50 hostages as part of the temporary ceasefire and Israel would release 150 Palestinian prisoners, along with sending humanitarian aid for the citizens of Gaza during the pause. This marks the first cessation of hostilities in the war that has gone on for nearly 50 days.
Israel has already confirmed that four tankers of fuel and cooking gas each entered the Gaza Strip for UN aid agencies on Friday morning through the Rafah border crossing. Shortly before the truce, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) demolished a Hamas tunnel discovered under Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, as well as completed its deployment on the ceasefire lines.
There is no doubt that the truce would provide some relief for the 2.3 million people in Gaza, who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment and ground operations. Some families of the captured Israelis, who have put pressure on PM Benjamin Netanyahu, would also be relieved.
However, the Israeli military warned millions of displaced Palestinians to not return to their homes in the north and promised to block such efforts as the war is likely to resume after the truce ends.
What is in the deal?
Apart from the release of hostages, Hamas said that 200 trucks a day will enter Gaza carrying humanitarian aid for Gazans. This came after Israel severely limited the supply of food, water and medical supplies to the territory.
An Israeli official earlier said that Hamas wanted a month-long cessation in the fighting but settled for four days. Israel said that the truce would extend for a day for the release of an additional 10 hostages.
Hamas claims to hold 210 of the 240 hostages it captured from Israel during its attack on October 7, while the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other factions hold the remaining 30. Hamas holds at least 98 women and children, and two women - Yehudit Weiss and Noa Marciano - were killed.
However, the four-day truce agreement that would have seen the release of the first batch of 50 hostages from Gaza on Thursday hit a last-minute snag as Israel's National Security Council chairman Tzachi Hanegbi said that the release will not take place before Friday due to ongoing negotiations.
According to an Israeli official on late Wednesday, both Israel and Hamas need to sign a document ratifying the agreement of a temporary ceasefire for it to take effect, contrary to what was previously discussed. The document is expected to be signed within 24 hours.
Although a significant step in the conflict after months of negotiations, the four-day truce is unlikely to change the course of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel is expected to continue where it let things off after the truce period is over.
This was confirmed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said that the war would resume after the ceasefire expires. "We are at war, and we will continue the war. We will continue until we achieve all our goals," he said.
Israel-Hamas War
It should be mentioned here that the war erupted on October 7 when several thousand Hamas militants burst across the border into Israel, killing at least 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage. Most of the dead were civilians. Israel responded with weeks of blistering airstrikes on Gaza, followed by a ground invasion that began over three weeks ago.
More than 14,500 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli offensive, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. It does not differentiate between civilians and militants, though some two-thirds of the dead have been identified as women and minors. Israel says thousands of Hamas militants have been killed.
(with inputs from agencies)
ALSO READ | Israel PM Netanyahu orders Mossad to target Hamas chiefs abroad ahead of hostage release
