Israel's long-awaited deal with Hamas to allow the release of 50 hostages from Gaza is now set to take place Friday.
The truce, which includes a four-day cease-fire, will now begin 7 a.m. local time Friday, with the first batch of hostages being released at 4 p.m., a spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced in a press conference Thursday. The agreement was originally supposed to begin Thursday morning.
The Qatar official said the list of civilians who will be released from Gaza have been agreed upon, so Israel is aware of which hostages will be freed. In return, Israel will release 150 Palestinian prisoners. Israel will also allow up to 300 trucks of aid and fuel into Gaza each day.
No reason was given for the delay, but the families who have been waiting in agony since their loved ones were captured by Hamas on Oct. 7 are still suffering.
Once the deal is done, the hostages are expected to be released in small clusters to the International Red Cross, many of them women and children.
Until then, the strikes on Gaza continue. Israel Defense Forces said its troops have destroyed 400 Hamas tunnels since the start of the war. Palestinian news agency WAFA said more than 100 people were killed overnight, including 50 from one family.
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