Egypt said 12 Thai nationals who are held by Hamas will be released in addition to the 13 hostages due to be released at 9 a.m. ET, the head of the state information service Diaa Rashwan said in a statement.
Quick Read
- Egypt announced the release of 12 Thai nationals, in addition to 13 hostages, by Hamas as part of the ongoing Israel-Hamas truce.
- Preparations are underway at the Rafah border for the transfer of hostages released by Hamas to Israel.
- The first group of hostages, including women and children, is expected to be released imminently.
- The truce, which began early Friday, has so far been holding, with no major bombings or artillery strikes reported.
- Under the truce agreement, 50 women and children held by Hamas will be released over four days, while Israel will free 39 Palestinian prisoners.
- Palestinians displaced from the northern part of the Gaza Strip are reportedly trying to return to their homes.
- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that the military operation against Hamas will continue after the truce.
- American citizens are not expected to be among the first group of hostages released.
The Associated Press has the story:
Egypt: 12 Thai nationals will be released in addition to the 13 hostages
Newslooks- CAIRO (AP)
Egypt said 12 Thai nationals who are held by Hamas will be released in addition to the 13 hostages due to be released at 9 a.m. ET, the head of the state information service Diaa Rashwan said in a statement.
The Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza is being prepared to receive hostages released by Hamas in preparation for their transfer to the Israeli side, Rashwan said.
The first release of hostages is expected imminently. Here’s what you need to know
Just after 7 a.m. local time Friday, the skies over Gaza fell quiet for the first time in nearly seven weeks. The truce agreement – brokered through painstaking negotiations – appears to be holding, journalists in southern Israel close to the Gaza Strip have reported.
Now, the world is waiting to see if the second part of the truce agreement – the release of civilian hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel – will also be observed.
An initial group of 13 hostages – expected to be women and children – are set to be released at 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET). Under the Israel-Hamas agreement, a total of 50 women and children are expected to be freed in a release staggered over four days, while there is a pause in fighting. In return, Israel is set to release 39 Palestinian prisoners – also expected to be women and children.
Meanwhile, Palestinians from the north of the Strip – but who had fled south to avoid the worst of the fighting – are reportedly attempting to return to their homes now the truce has begun.
Here are the latest developments:
- Hostage release: In just over an hour, a group of hostages taken by Hamas are set to be freed. They will be received by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops who have made extensive preparations – from medical provisions to how to greet the likely traumatized women and children. The freed hostages are set to be airlifted to hospitals to receive medical treatment.
- Palestinian prisoners: Israel is also set to free 39 Palestinian prisoners – of whom 24 are women and 15 are children, a Palestinian official said. The majority of those listed as eligible for release by Israel are male Palestinians aged between 16 and 18 – children under the UN definition – while a handful are as young as 14.
- Truce holding: Journalists in the southern Israeli city of Sderot said the sounds of heavy weapons fire stopped shortly after 7 a.m. local time Friday. They heard what sounded like small arms fire inside Gaza about 20 minutes later, but artillery fire, airstrikes and rockets appear to have stopped – and, hours on, the truce appears not to have been broken.
- Aid in Rafah: With the truce being observed, aid is expected to flow more freely into Gaza. Some 130,000 liters of diesel fuel and four trucks of gas will enter Gaza from Egypt daily starting Friday, according to Egyptian authorities. At least 90 aid trucks have entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing Friday, an Egyptian border official at the border said.
- Heading north?: More than a million Palestinians fled from the north of Gaza to the south last month, after Israel issued an order to evacuate. After the pause in fighting began, displaced Palestinians are reportedly attempting to return to their homes in the north – but they have been blocked by Israeli forces, a journalist said. The IDF has told people in southern Gaza not to move north, with its forces restricting travel from the north to the south to only one road. “The IDF is stationed along the designated operational lines of the pause in accordance with the provisions of the agreed upon framework,” an IDF spokesperson said.
- Longer war?: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel’s military operation against Hamas will continue “forcefully” after the truce has been observed. “This will be a brief pause. When it ends, the fighting will continue forcefully, and will create pressure that will allow the return of more hostages,” Gallant said while visiting Israeli troops on Thursday. He said he expected the fighting to continue for “at least two more months.”
Americans not expected to be among the first 13 hostages released
American citizens are not expected to be among the first group of hostages released Friday, a US official said.
The official added they remain hopeful that there will be Americans among the initial 50.
The first hostage release from Gaza is scheduled to take place later today, when13 women and children held captive in Gaza are expected to be freed, mediators in Qatar have said.
