SAHARA REPORTERS
The Israeli government has said it will release 42 prisoners on Saturday under a temporary truce signed with Hamas militants.
This was revealed by AFP News Agency in a post on X(formerly Twitter), adding that Hamas militants have also agreed to release 14 hostages on Saturday.
“Israeli official source says Hamas to release 14 hostages Saturday. Israeli authorities say 42 prisoners to be released Saturday under truce deal,” AFP wrote.
Recall that Israel and Hamas agreed early on Wednesday to a ceasefire in Gaza for at least four days, to let in aid and free at least 50 hostages held by militants in the Palestinian enclave in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel.
The ceasefire deal, facilitated by Qatar with the help of Egypt and the United States, was due to take effect Thursday but was delayed after a last-minute hitch.
The ceasefire deal followed weeks of war in the Gaza Strip after Hamas fighters broke through the militarised Gaza border with Israel on October 7 in an attack.
Israeli airstrikes and ground invasions had since then reportedly killed over 14,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and forced about 1.7 million Gazans to flee their homes.
The Israeli government had said about 1,200 of its nationals, mostly civilians, were killed and around 240 taken hostage.
The “surprise operation” from Gaza came on the heels of the killing of four Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, widespread Israeli settler attacks, especially in Huwara, near Nablus and increased tensions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
Hamas, the group running the besieged enclave, had explained that its surprise, large-scale operation was in response to the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.
Confirming the four-day ceasefire at a press conference in Doha yesterday, Qatari Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari: “The pause will begin at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on Friday… and the first batch of civilian hostages will be handed over at approximately 4:00 pm (1400 GMT).”
