Israel-Hamas truce: 4-day pause in Gaza fighting to begin Friday; Israel detains, quizzes Al-Shifa Hospital director
Qatar says a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip will begin at 7 a.m. on Friday local time, with Hamas to free some hostages later in the day.
A spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the arrangements are in accordance with an agreement between Israel and Hamas. Qatar has been mediating between the two sides.
The spokesperson said Hamas will release 13 women and children hostages at around 4 p.m. local time on Friday. An Israeli official told CNN a total of 39 Palestinian prisoners will also be released Friday as part of the deal. The parley calls for a total of 50 hostages to be freed.
A CNN team in southern Israel saida truce between Israel and Hamas appeared to be taking effect shortly after 7 a.m. local time (midnight ET) Friday.
He emphasized that the deal’s implementation had been delayed to allow for careful discussions to ensure the hostages will not be hurt when they are released.
Hamas said on social media that the suspension of its hostilities, the freeing of hostages, and the release of Palestinians from Israeli jails will start at 7 a.m. on Friday, and continue for four days.
Hamas also said 200 truckloads of aid and medical supplies and four truckloads of fuel will enter Gaza daily during the pause.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that it has received an initial list of the names of the hostages to be released. It says officials are checking the details of the list, and are in contact with the families.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military says the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip has been detained and transferred for questioning by security officials.
The military said on Thursday that the detention followed evidence showing that the facility had served as a Hamas command and control center under the director’s direct management. Israeli troops raided the hospital, Gaza’s largest, last week.
Health officials in Gaza said the director was detained along with other medical workers as the United Nations and the World Health Organization led a convoy of evacuated patients and medical staff from the hospital to southern Gaza.
The officials criticized both the UN and Israel for the detentions. They said they had decided to stop coordination with the WHO until a report on what had happened is submitted, and all the detainees are released.
Israel’s defense minister has vowed to continue the fight “forcefully” after the brief truce, saying he expects at least two more months of battle. Israel heavily bombarded sites in Gaza Thursday.
