Hamas to release 13 hostages as first truce in Gaza war starts

There were no reports of bombings, artillery strikes or rocket attacks as the four-day truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza kicked off on Friday. 

The truce began at 7:00 am (0500 GMT), involving a comprehensive ceasefire in north and south Gaza, the release of 13 Israeli women and child hostages by the militants later in the day and aid to enter through the Rafah crossing. 

During a media briefing, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari, said the first group of hostages to be released will be 13 women and children.

No details of how the hostages would be transferred were released for "security reasons".

The truce, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the US, came after nearly seven weeks of conflict between Israel and Hamas, that left about 1,200 Israelis and 14,854 Palestinians dead.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day truce so that 50 women and children under the age of 19 taken hostage could be freed in return for 150 Palestinian women and teenagers in Israeli detention.

Official Spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs @majedalansari: The beginning of the pause will be 7:00 AM Friday the 24th of November.#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/cYFbFVzpLc

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) November 23, 2023