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Israel-Hamas ceasefire takes hold in Gaza Strip

13 Israeli hostages, 39 Palestinian detainees released under truce deal; aid trucks enter enclave from Egypt
PHOTO: REUTERS
AGENCIES
A temporary ceasefire between Israeli and Hamas forces took hold in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the first respite in 48 days of conflict that has devastated the Palestinian enclave, but both sides warned that the war was far from over.
No big bombings, artillery strikes or rocket attacks were reported although Hamas and Israel both accused each other of sporadic violations.
The ceasefire, which began at 7:00 am (local time), involved the release of 13 Israeli women and children held hostage by Hamas in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Two sources close to Hamas told AFP that 13 Israeli hostages were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross for return to Israel.
“Half an hour ago, the prisoners were handed to the Red Cross who will take them to the Egyptians” at the Rafah crossing, said a source. Their release came after 10 Thais and a Filipino national were also freed by Hamas.
Israeli security sources later confirmed that 13 Israeli hostages were handed over to Israeli forces.
In exchange, Israel released the first 39 Palestinians from its jails later yesterday, among them 24 women and 15 teenagers, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said in a post on X.
Additional aid is to flow into Gaza, which has been gripped by a humanitarian crisis under weeks of Israeli bombardment that has killed thousands of Palestinians.
Reuters journalists saw Israeli tanks moving away from the Gaza Strip at the northern end, and aid trucks rolling in from Egypt at the southern end. There was no sound of Israeli air force activity above northern Gaza, nor any of the contrails typically left by Palestinian rocket fire.
In Khan Younis town in southern Gaza, housing thousands of families displaced from the north, streets filled with people venturing out of home and shelters.
Hamas confirmed that all hostilities from its forces would cease. But Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, later stressed that this was a “temporary truce”. The Israeli military also said fighting would resume soon.
The Israeli military also told Palestinians not to try to return to homes in the northern part of Gaza, which it described as a “dangerous war zone”.
Palestinian health authorities said that since October 7, Israel has rained bombs on the Hamas-ruled aGazans.
Arab media reported that Israeli forces were preventing residents from returning to their homes in Gaza’s north. Soldiers opened fire in one incident, Al Jazeera said, but there was no indication that it resulted in casualties.
Sirens sounded in two Israeli villages outside the southern Gaza Strip, warning of possible incoming Palestinian rockets. An Israeli government spokesman said Hamas had fired rockets in violation of the truce but there were no immediate reports of damage.