A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas will begin today
A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas will begin today
Palestine/Gaza ● Friday, November 24, 2023 A first batch of 13 Israeli women and children held as hostages will be freed later on Friday, according to mediators in Qatar, marking the beginning of a four-day ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas. The announcement was cautiously welcomed by world powers. However, the fighting continued, with Gaza City officials reporting that a hospital was one of the sites hit as the clock ticked down to the first ceasefire in the almost seven-week-old, horrific conflict. Additionally, all sides indicated that the pause would only last until the conflict resumed. According to Qatar's foreign ministry, the ceasefire would include a complete ceasefire in both north and south of Gaza and would start at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT). In the Qatari capital of Doha, ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari announced that more aid would begin to come into Gaza and that the first captives, including elderly ladies, would be liberated at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT). Over the course of the four days, the number of hostages would rise to 50. He informed reporters that Palestinians detained in Israeli jails were anticipated to be released. "We all hope that this truce will lead to a chance to start a wider work to achieve a permanent truce." While on vacation on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket for the Thanksgiving break, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his hope that a 3-year-old American girl would be among the first to be released. The truce was described as a "hopeful moment" by a U.S. State Department official, who added that work would still need to be done to rescue every hostage. Hamas announced on its Telegram channel that all hostilities from its forces will end. A day earlier on Thursday, the organization was expected to announce a truce with Israel, but talks continued. Nevertheless, in a video message that demanded a "escalation of the confrontation with (Israel) on all resistance fronts," including the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where violence has increased since the Gaza war broke out, Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Hamas' armed wing, subsequently made reference to "this temporary truce." Without providing specifics, the Israeli military declared that its soldiers will remain inside Gaza behind a line of ceasefire. "Nothing is definite these days, and things will be complicated... Changes may occur even throughout this process, according to Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari. "Control over northern Gaza is the first step of a long war, and we are preparing for the next stages," he stated. According to the prime minister's office, Israel had received the first list of captives to be released and was in communication with the families. Following militants from Hamas breaking through the border fence on October 7, Israel began its deadly invasion of Gaza, killing 1,200 Palestinians and taking roughly 240 captives, according to Israeli estimates. According to Palestinian health authorities, since then, Israeli bombardment has killed almost 13,000 Gazans, about 40% of them were children. Nonetheless, they have stated that as the health service has crumbled under the Israeli assault, it has becoming more and more impossible to maintain an accurate count. After visiting Gaza, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini of the U.N. Palestinian refugee organization UNRWA stated, "People are exhausted and are losing hope in humanity," referring to the "unspeakable suffering" that was occurring in the enclave. "They deserve to sleep without worrying about whether they will survive the night, and they need a break from that worry. This is the very minimum that every individual ought to own." The combat was far more intense than usual prior to the ceasefire, with Israeli jets hitting over 300 targets and forces fighting fiercely in the area of the Jabalia refugee camp, which is located north of Gaza City. According to an army spokesman, activities would carry on until troops were given the all clear to cease. According to Gaza health experts, the Indonesian hospital in Gaza City was under constant bombing, running without light, and housing a large number of elderly and children who were bedridden. The situation of hospitals has alarmed the world, particularly in the northern part of Gaza where all medical facilities are closed and are locked inside with patients, personnel, and displaced people. According to Hamas, an Israeli strike on a UNRWA-affiliated school in Jabalia resulted in the deaths of thirty individuals. UNRWA did not immediately provide a statement.
Source Thejakartapost.com
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