4-day truce begins in Gaza, hostages to be swapped for Palestinian prisoners
The truce deal was reached in weeks of intense indirect negotiations, with Qatar, the United States and Egypt serving as mediators.
Israeli soldiers listen to Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant during his visit to a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, Thursday, October 19. Photo: AP/PTI
Dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza were set to be exchanged for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel as a temporary truce in the Israel-Hamas war took effect early Friday (November 24).
The halt in fighting began at 7 am local time (10:30 AM IST) and is to last at least four days. During the truce, Gaza's ruling Hamas group pledged to free at least 50 of the about 240 hostages it and other militants took in their deadly October 7 attack on Israel. In turn, Israel is to free three Palestinian prisoners for each released hostage. The releases are to take place in stages over the next four days.
The truce deal was reached in weeks of intense indirect negotiations, with Qatar, the United States and Egypt serving as mediators. If it holds, it would mark the first significant break in fighting 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 has devastated large swaths of Gaza and killed at least 13,300 Palestinians.
(With agency inputs)