Israel will release 39 prisoners in exchange for 13 hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, a Palestinian official has said, amid a temporary truce to allow for the swap.
The inmates, all from the occupied West Bank or Jerusalem and including 24 women and 15 teenage males, will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross from a military jail at around 2pm UK time, according to the authorities.
This will coincide with the planned handover at the Gaza-Egypt border of 13 women and children who were among some 240 people kidnapped by militant gunmen during the deadly 7 October rampage in southern Israel, which sparked the latest devastating conflict.
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Israel Defence Forces said it had completed preparations for receiving the freed hostages “and give them all the necessary support”.
It added: “After the initial reception and medical treatment, the released hostages will continue to hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families.”
Other key developments:
- Israel says ceasefire could be extended
- Aid begins to enter the besieged enclave
- Palestinians are told not to return to northern Gaza
- Both sides warn the war is not over
The release is part of a Israeli-Hamas truce that began at 5am UK time and appeared to be holding despite both sides accusing each other of sporadic violations.
Israeli tanks have moved away from the northern end of Gaza while there was an absence of hostile activity in the air from warplanes or rockets.
The start of the four-day ceasefire has also allowed aid to start to flow into the besieged enclave, which has been gripped by a humanitarian crisis following weeks of Israeli bombardment, with fuel and medical supplies cut off.
Israel says the truce could be extended beyond the initial four days if Hamas continues to release hostages at a
rate of at least 10 per day.
A Palestinian source has said the total released could reach 100.
Preparations have been made to receive the hostages. Pic: IDF
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has warned hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who sought refuge in southern Gaza not to attempt to return to their homes in the northern half of the territory, which has been the focus of the ground offensive against Hamas, describing it as a “dangerous war zone”.
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Sofian Abu Amer, from Gaza City, said: “We are returning to our homes to see and check our conditions there and how our homes are.
“We want to bring clothes and what we need.
“There is no cooking gas, food, or drink. The situation is very tragic.”
The truce has enabled aid to enter Gaza. Pic: AP
But Arabic-language leaflets dropped over southern Gaza on Friday said that “the war has not ended yet” and people should remain in place.
“Returning to the north is prohibited and very dangerous,” the leaflets said.
“Your fate and the fate of your families is in your hands. We have warned you.”
IDF troops leaving Gaza
Despite the cessation in hostilities both sides have warned the war was far from over.
Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, has stressed it was a “temporary truce”.
In a video message, he called for an “escalation of the confrontation with (Israel) on all resistance fronts”, including
the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military also said fighting would resume shortly.
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said: “This will be a short pause, at the conclusion of which the war (and) fighting will continue with great might and will generate pressure for the return of more hostages.”
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Netanyahu: ‘The war continues’
The truce deal was reached after weeks of intense indirect negotiations, with Qatar, the US, 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.
Israel launched its onslaught on Gaza after insurgents stormed across the border fence on 7 October – killing 1,200 people and seizing about 240 hostages.
Israel’s retaliation against the Hamas-ruled territory has killed some 14,000 Gazans, around 40% of them children, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Hundreds of thousands of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes to escape the violence as conditions grew ever more desperate, with food, drinking water, fuel and other basic supplies running short.
It is the bloodiest episode in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel’s stated aim is to remove Hamas once and for all.
