A four-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza on Friday morning as part of an agreement co-brokered by Qatar. The deal also includes the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians detained by Israel, which was due to begin later on Friday.
The deal comes with increased shipments of fuel and supplies to Gaza – although still only enough to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, according to aid groups. Israel has agreed to allow the delivery of 130,000 liters (34,300 gallons) of fuel per day for humanitarian purposes to the besieged Gaza Strip for the duration of the ceasefire.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said after a days-long pause in its casualty report that it attributed to the collapse of the health system in the northern Gaza Strip, making it impossible to provide a detailed count.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will continue the war after the ceasefire expires. About 1,200 people were killed in Israel, most of them during Hamas’s initial invasion.
At the moment:
– A four-day ceasefire begins, which creates the conditions for the release of dozens of hostages.
– Hezbollah fires rockets into northern Israel after an airstrike killed five of the group’s senior fighters.
– Thousands led by the Cuban president march in solidarity with the Palestinians.
— For more AP coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s what happens in war:
Ambulances arrive at the Israeli military base before the hostages are released
HATZERIM MILITARY BASE, Israel – Ambulances arrived at the Hatzerim military air base in southern Israel on Friday, hours before the hostages were expected to arrive following their release from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials said that after arriving at the air base, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, the released hostages would be flown or driven to five different hospitals across the country for medical treatment as needed.
The Gaza Strip-ruling Hamas group has pledged to release at least 50 of the approximately 240 hostages it and other militants took in their deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel. In return, Israel should release three Palestinian prisoners for every hostage released. The releases are scheduled to occur gradually over the next four days.
ISRAELI UNITS KILL A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY IN THE WEST BANK
JERUSALEM – Israeli forces have shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health authorities said Friday, as violence in the area increases in the shadow of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The boy was killed on Thursday in the village of Beita near the crisis city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, the officials said.
The Israeli military said Palestinians threw stones as soldiers entered the village and the troops responded with live fire. The military said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began seven weeks ago, the West Bank has experienced one of its deadliest periods in at least two decades. According to the UN, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed 229 Palestinians, including 52 children and minors under 18, in raids and violent clashes.
The war was sparked by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people.
ISRAELI TROOPS SHOOTING AT Palestinians trying to return to northern Gaza, killing two people
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – Israeli troops fatally shot two Palestinians and wounded 11 others as they headed toward the main fighting zone in the northern Gaza Strip, despite warnings from the Israeli army to stay put.
An Associated Press journalist saw the two bodies and the wounded as they arrived at a hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah, in the southern half of the Gaza Strip. The injured were shot in the legs.
Friday’s shooting came hours after the Israeli military warned hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians seeking refuge in the southern Gaza Strip not to try to return to their homes in the northern half of the territory, the focus of Israel’s ground offensive.
The military had dropped leaflets over the southern Gaza Strip saying that returning to the northern Gaza Strip was forbidden and dangerous.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been seen trying to cross into the northern Gaza Strip since a four-day ceasefire came into effect on Friday morning.
Witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire on people trying to flee north.
Since the start of the war sparked by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel seven weeks ago, hundreds of thousands of people have left their homes in the north on orders from the Israeli army.
“Everyone in return for everyone,” says the Palestinian leader of Islamic Jihad
BEIRUT – The leader of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad said Friday that Israeli soldiers among the 240 hostages held by militant groups in Gaza will be released only in exchange for all Palestinians detained by Israel.
Islamic Jihad is reportedly holding about 40 of the hostages captured by Hamas and other militant groups during their attack on southern Israel on October 7. Over the next four days, 50 hostages are to be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners, with both sides initially releasing women and children.
In a televised address on the first day of what was reported to be a four-day ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Nakhaleh said that “the enemy’s military prisoners will not be released without our prisoners having their freedom.” Aggression together.” He said that Israel would be forced “at some point to reach an agreement where everyone is there for everyone in return.”
It was not immediately clear how many of the hostages held in Gaza are currently serving in the military and whether the militants also consider reserve soldiers to be military hostages.
Nearly 7,000 Palestinians are currently being detained by Israel on security charges, including about 1,800 who have been detained since the war began.
Urgently needed fuel and cooking gas tankers are entering GAZA
JERUSALEM – Israel announced that four tankers carrying fuel and four tankers carrying cooking gas entered the Gaza Strip on Friday, the first day of what it said was a four-day ceasefire.
Israel has agreed to allow the delivery of 130,000 liters (34,300 gallons) of fuel per day for humanitarian purposes to the besieged Gaza Strip for the duration of the ceasefire. This would be roughly double the amount previously permitted, but still only a small portion of Gaza’s daily needs, estimated at more than 1 million liters (264,000 gallons).
For most of the last seven weeks of the war, Israel had banned the import of all fuel into Gaza, saying it could be used by Hamas for military purposes. United Nations aid agencies pushed back against such claims, saying fuel shipments were being closely monitored and were urgently needed to avert a humanitarian disaster.
It was not immediately clear whether Friday’s deliveries meant the new daily target set in the ceasefire agreement had been met. The announcement was made by COGAT, an Israeli Defense Ministry body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs.
Thailand’s foreign minister says he cannot confirm reports of Thai hostages being released
BANGKOK – Thailand’s foreign minister said Friday morning that he could not yet confirm media reports that 23 Thai workers held hostage in Gaza were to be released. But, the minister said, his Iranian counterpart, who acts as Hamas’s mediator, told him that there would be “good news soon.”
Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said his ministry had prepared to receive the hostages if they were released.
Qatari officials, who were the main facilitators in hostage release talks, will hold a meeting on the issue, Parnpree said. Thai officials expect further developments by Friday afternoon and hope there will be good news.
The missing workers were among about 30,000 Thais mostly employed in Israel’s agricultural sector. According to the Thai Foreign Ministry, 39 people were killed and 36 were kidnapped in the October 7 attacks. More than 8,600 workers have been voluntarily repatriated since the attacks.
ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS IT DESTROYED TUNNEL UNDER SHIFA HOSPITAL
JERUSALEM – The Israeli military said Friday it had destroyed sections of tunnels and a number of tunnel shafts in the area of Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza.
On Wednesday, Israel revealed a tunnel and rooms that military officials said were a major Hamas hideout under Shifa. Hamas and hospital staff deny Israeli allegations that Shifa was used as a command center for militant militias.
On Thursday, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel had mapped Shifa Hospital and planned to destroy all “terror infrastructure” it found.
Separately, the military said it continued attacking targets throughout the night, leading to a four-day ceasefire that began Friday morning. It said it had “completed its operational preparations in line with the battle lines of the pause.”
A four-day ceasefire begins in Gaza
A temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war came into effect early Friday, paving the way for the exchange of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza for Palestinians detained in Israel.
The pause in fighting began at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and is expected to last at least four days. During the ceasefire, the Gaza Strip’s ruling Hamas group pledged to release at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages it and other militants took in their deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel. In return, Israel should release three Palestinian prisoners for every hostage released. The releases are scheduled to occur gradually over the next four days.
The ceasefire was reached after weeks of intensive indirect negotiations, with Qatar, the United States and Egypt acting as mediators. If this is the case, it would be the first significant break-off in combat since Israel declared war on Hamas seven weeks ago.
About 1,200 people were killed by Hamas attackers in Israel on October 7. Israel responded with a massive air and ground offensive that devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip and killed at least 13,300 Palestinians.