Israel-Hamas truce begins, 13 hostages to be released
A four-day pause in the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will begin on Friday, said Qatar, which mediated the truce. The pause will start at 7:00am local time, and Hamas will release 13 of the promised 50 hostages around 4:00pm local time. Around 200 trucks carrying aid, including fuel, will enter Gaza daily during the ceasefire. Meanwhile, Israel escalated the rate of attack, hitting 300 targets amid the delayed pause, The Guardian reported.
Why does this story matter?
The truce, initially set to begin on Thursday, comes after nearly seven weeks of fighting and calls for a ceasefire from around the world. The war started on October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. Responding to the attack, Israel has killed at least 14,854 people in Gaza, including 5,850 children. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it will resume fighting after the pause and won't stop until it reaches absolute victory.
How will the swap take place?
Qatar's foreign ministry said that Israel will also release 39 of the promised 150 Palestinians from its jails on the first day of the truce. The humanitarian group Red Cross will reportedly escort the hostages to the Rafah border crossing and hand them over to the Israeli military, who would then start the identification process. The Palestinian prisoners will be handed over to their families at a crossing south of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Israel bombs hospital hours before pause
Just hours before the truce, Israel bombed an Indonesian hospital in Gaza, officials said. The hospital is operating without light or power and is filled with bedridden people, including children. Doctors Without Borders said that Gaza's Nasser Hospital is facing an overflow of patients and families seeking shelter in the building. Israel on Thursday detained Muhammad Abu Salamiya, chief of al-Shifa Hospital, to question him about his alleged role in the hospital complex being used as a Hamas command center.
Hezbollah launches attacks on Israel from Southern Lebanon
As international pressure mounts on Israel to end the war amid a risk of the conflict escalating and spilling into the Middle East, Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese group, launched attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon. The group said it launched 48 Katyusha rockets including anti-tank missiles at an Israeli army base on Thursday. Air-raid sirens were triggered in Israel, which claimed to have intercepted some of the missiles and struck back.
First meal Israeli hostages will eat once freed
Ahead of the release of 50 hostages by Hamas, the Israeli Health Ministry gave directions to local hospitals on how to feed malnourished patients. According to the guidelines, children aged one to three should be fed water, a sweet biscuit, unsweetened applesauce, and tea sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar. Adolescents and adults will be offered water, a hot drink sweetened with a tablespoon of sugar, three sweet biscuits, and unsweetened applesauce.
