Israel-Hamas truce begins, hostages to be released
13 women and children held hostage in Gaza are due to be freed.
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13 women and children held hostage in Gaza are due to be freed.
A four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war began on Friday, with hostages set to be released in exchange for prisoners in the first major reprieve during seven weeks of a war that have claimed thousands of lives.
The two sides had agreed to silence guns and stop bombings from 7 a.m. in a conflict that erupted after Hamas' murderous raids into Israel on 7 October.
As part of the agreement, 13 women and children held hostage in Gaza are due to be freed at 4 p.m., followed by a number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, according to Qatari mediators.
Over the four days, at least 50 hostages are expected to be freed, leaving an estimated 190 in the hands of Palestinian militants.
In exchange, 150 Palestinians prisoners are expected to be released.
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The agreement entailed a "complete ceasefire with no attacks from the air or the ground" and the skies clear of drones to "allow for the hostage release to happen in a safe environment," Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said.
For Gaza's two million-plus residents, the deal brings a promise of respite from weeks of sustained Israeli bombardment.
The territory's Hamas government says the war has so far killed about 15,000 people. According to the United Nations, 1.7 million of the territory's 2.4 million people are estimated to have been displaced.
At dawn, thousands of people who had fled to areas near Gaza's border with Egypt were preparing to return to their villages.
However, Israeli warplanes over southern Gaza dropped leaflets warning people not to head back to the north.
"The war is not over yet," the leaflets read. "Returning to the north is forbidden and very dangerous!!!"
Around 15 minutes after the truce began, sirens warning of incoming rockets sounded in several communities along Israel's border with Gaza, the Israeli military said, without providing further details.
About two hours into the pause, dark plumes of smoke could still be seen rising over northern Gaza, an AFPTV livecam showed.
Qatari officials said the "first batch" of 13 hostages released would be women and children from the same families.
An Egyptian security source told Agence France-Presse that Israeli security officials, International Red Cross-Red Crescent staff and an Egyptian team would deploy to Rafah, on the Egypt-Gaza border, to receive the hostages, who will then be flown to Israel.
Palestinian prisoners will be released from three jails in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, then taken to the Ofer military camp on buses, an Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that they were expected to be freed in the evening.
Hospital head arrested
Meanwhile, the head of Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in the Palestinian territory, was arrested Thursday by Israeli forces who said it was over the facility's alleged use by Hamas.
Hospital director Mohammad Abu Salmiyawas held for questioning following "evidence showing that Shifa Hospital, under his direct management, served as a Hamas command and control center," the Israeli military said in a statement.
The Israeli army, which raided the hospital last week, has alleged that Hamas fighters used a tunnel complex beneath the facility in Gaza City to stage attacks.
Hamas and hospital officials have repeatedly denied the claims.
Palestinian health officials said Abu Salmiya, another doctor and two nurses had been arrested.
