Protesters stand in front of the Space Needle during a rally demanding that US Democratic Senator Patty Murray call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, Sunday, November 19, 2023, in Seattle. © Lindsey Wasson, AP
Published November 24, 2024
A temporary cease-fire agreement to facilitate the release of dozens of people taken hostage during Hamas’ raid on Israel is expected to bring the first respite to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza and a glimmer of hope to the families of the captives.
After hitting a last-minute snag, the deal took effect Friday, a day later than originally planned. Under its terms, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day halt in hostilities. Palestinian prisoners held by Israel would also be freed as part of the agreement.
The deal was brokered by Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt and announced on Wednesday. It capped weeks of fitful indirect negotiations and set the stage for a tense period that could determine the course of the war, which was set off by Hamas’ Oct. 7 raid.
Israel, Hamas and Qatar have released different details of the agreement, but those details do not appear to contradict one another.
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SOURCE: www.france24.com
RELATED: Israel-Hamas guns silent as hostage release awaited
Published November 24, 2024
After 48 days of gunfire and bombardment that claimed thousands of lives, a four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war began on Friday with hostages set to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The truce, from 7:00 am (0500 GMT), triggered a mass movement of thousands of Gazans who had sought refuge in schools and hospitals from relentless Israeli bombardment begun after unprecedented attacks on October 7 by Hamas militants.
“I’m going home,” Omar Jibrin, 16, told AFP after he emerged from a hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip where he and eight family members had sought refuge.
In Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza where many Palestinians fled, a cacophony of car horns and ambulance sirens has replaced the sound of war.
For Khaled al-Halabi, the truce is “a chance to breathe” after nearly seven weeks of war that began when Hamas broke through Gaza’s militarised border to kill, according to Israeli officials, about 1,200 people and seize around 240 Israeli and foreign hostages.
Israel’s retaliatory air, artillery and naval strikes alongside a ground offensive have killed about 15,000 people, the Hamas government in Gaza said.
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SOURCE: www.breitbart.com
RELATED: Israel-Hamas 4-day truce begins with dozens of hostages expected to be released
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) AP
Published November 24, 2023
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war took effect early Friday, setting the stage for the exchange of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza in return for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The halt in fighting promised some relief for Gaza’s 2.3 million people, who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as families in Israel fearful for the fate of loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.
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SOURCE: www.marketwatch.com
