KEY POINTS
- Hamas is expected to release more than a dozen hostages Friday afternoon
- Iran reportedly mediated a separate 'unconditional' hostage deal between the Thai government and Hamas
- Netanyahu has said the war will resume after the ceasefire
- The IDF has 'forbidden' residents from moving from the southern to the northern Gaza Strip
It's the 49th day of the Israel-Hamas war, and the ceasefire agreement that includes the release of 50 hostages being held by Hamas has finally begun following a one-day delay and weeks of stalled negotiations.
- Qatar, a mediator alongside Egypt in the ceasefire-hostage deal, announced Thursday that the truce will begin at 7 a.m. Friday local time (12 a.m. ET). Hamas is expected to free 13 women and children at 4 p.m. Friday local time (9 a.m. ET).
- A separate Thailand-Hamas agreement will reportedly see the release of 23 Thai hostages.
- Rocket sirens were heard in southern Israel minutes before the truce came into effect.
- The IDF has forbidden movement from the south to the northern part of the Gaza Strip amid the ceasefire.
- The Israel-Hamas four-day ceasefire has finally started.
- Rocket sirens sounded in two Gaza border communities 15 minutes after the ceasefire began.
- Aid trucks have started entering the enclave.
- The Israel Prison Service has reportedly started processing 39 Palestinian detainees for release Friday as part of the truce deal.
- Fuel and cooking gas trucks have been delivered to UN groups in southern Gaza, the Israeli army said.
- A five-step process is reportedly involved in the release of hostages, the last being their reunion with loved ones.
- A Palestinian official said Israel will on Friday release 39 Palestinian detainees: 24 women and 15 teenaged males.
- An incoming hostile aircraft alert sounded in the southern Israeli city of Eilat.
- Thailand welcomes the ceasefire, but has not yet confirmed whether it agreed on a separate hostage deal with Hamas as per earlier reports.
- The IDF said it has completed reception preparations for returning hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that Israel will resume the war once the ceasefire-hostage deal is upheld.
The much-anticipated truce came around seven weeks since Hamas operatives launched a surprise attack in Israel, killing more than a thousand people and abducting over 200 Israelis and foreign nationals. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) started ground operations in the Gaza Strip late last month and said it has since destroyed hundreds of Hamas tunnel shafts.
Longstanding Israel-Palestine tensions blew up once the war started as supporters of the warring sides staged protests around the world. U.S. President Joe Biden has repeatedly reaffirmed his country's support for Israel while reminding its Middle Eastern ally to defend itself under international and humanitarian laws.
85 trucks, 2 ambulances arrive in Gaza: PRCS
Two ambulances and 85 trucks "loaded with aid" from the Egyptian Red Crescent have been received by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), it said Friday morning. The trucks carried essential supplies including medical equipment and other relief items, the PRCS said.
Under the ceasefire-hostage deal, hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks are expected to be allowed entry into the Gaza Strip.
Today, the Palestine Red Crescent teams received two ambulances and 85 trucks loaded with aid from the Egyptian Red Crescent through the Rafah crossing.
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 24, 2023
These trucks are carrying essential supplies such as food, water, relief items, medical equipment, and medications.#Gaza… pic.twitter.com/r1QRrGkU4X
