The ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas came into effect on Friday at 7am, ahead of the expected release of the first group of Israeli hostages held by the militant Islamist organisation in return for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Underlining the fragility of the four day pause in hostilities, an alert sounded in Israel at 7.15am local time warning of a possible incoming rocket from Gaza targeting a village in southern Israel.
The diplomatic breakthrough, delayed by 24 hours, marks the first pause in seven weeks of war in Gaza and offers some relief both for the 2.3 million Palestinians in the territory who have endured intensive Israeli bombardment, and for families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during the bloody attack launched last month by Hamas that triggered the conflict.
Officials in Qatar, which has played a key role as an intermediary, said an operations room there will monitor the truce and the release of hostages from Gaza. They have direct and real-time lines of communication with Israel, the Hamas political office in Doha and the ICRC, Majed al-Ansari, the spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, Ansari said.
The truce, initially lasting four or five days, was announced early on Wednesday after days of speculation and has raised hopes for a more durable pause in the violence.
Ansari said the two sides had exchanged lists of those to be released, and the first group of hostages held by Hamas – 13 women and children – would be freed on Friday afternoon. Ansari did not specify how many Palestinian women and children will be released on Friday or when this would take place.
Increased aid for Palestinians would start to enter “as soon as possible”, Ansari said.
Under the agreement, Hamas will free at least 50 of the more than 240 mostly Israeli hostages it has held since launching bloody attacks into southern Israel on 7 October. In turn, Israel will release at least 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow up to 300 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza which has endured heavy fighting and a crippling blockade of fuel, food, medicine and other essentials.
The exchange of female and child hostages and prisoners was due to take place on Thursday but was postponed as last-minute logistical issues were worked out during 24 hours of frantic diplomacy.
Sources close to the negotiations said Israel had presented a series of late requests for clarification of practical issues, and demanded the full identification of the hostages Hamas intended to release. Communication between the parties has to pass from Israeli officials to Qatar, then to Hamas leaders outside Gaza and finally those inside the territory, a process that slowed any resolution of outstanding issues, the sources said.
The senior Israeli official in charge of arrangements for the hostage release, Brig Gen Gal Hirsch, confirmed Israel had received a list of the names of the hostages to be freed. “Liaison officers have informed all of those families whose loved ones appear on the list, as well as all of the hostages’ families,” Hirsch said.
Reports in Israel suggest the hostages will be released across the Rafah border crossing into Egypt and then be brought to Israel by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent (ICRC).
The agreement includes a halt to Israeli military flights over southern Gaza, with air activity over northern Gaza restricted to six hours a day. Israel has agreed not to arrest anyone in Gaza for the duration of the truce, according to a Hamas statement.
Hamas is understood to be particularly concerned by the prospect of surveillance by drones during the release of hostages, a process that would expose their militants and potentially some of their infrastructure or even whereabouts of key leaders.
The hostages to be freed are women and children, and the Palestinian prisoners are also women and children, both sides have confirmed.
If the first exchanges go well, and Hamas can locate more female hostages or children, there will be further releases on both sides, reports suggest. Some sources have suggested the ceasefire could run for up to 10 days.
The deal, struck after lengthy and complex talks mediated by Qatar, the US and Egypt, comes more than six weeks after the conflict began last month. At least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas attacks on 7 October, and more than 240 people taken hostage.
The Israeli offensive has killed between 13,000 and 14,000 people, thousands of them children, according to Palestinian officials. More are thought to be under rubble. Swaths of northern Gaza have been destroyed in the fighting, and up to a million people displaced.
Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, without presenting evidence for its count.
Fighting on Thursday had continued at even greater than normal intensity, with Israeli jets hitting more than 300 targets and troops engaged in heavy clashes around Jabalia refugee camp north of Gaza City.
NGOs working with Palestinian prisoners said the arrangements for their release from Israeli jails was unclear even as late as Thursday evening, with continuing discussions about where they would be freed by Israeli authorities.
The prisoners to be freed are understood to come from across the occupied West Bank.
Though the deal has raised hopes of a more durable cessation of hostilities, Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed it will be temporary and will not end the campaign to destroy Hamas.
The Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said during a visit to a naval base on Thursday: “This will be a short respite, at the end of which the fighting will continue intensely, and we will create pressure to bring back more hostages. At least another two months of fighting is expected.”
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
