On the second day of the ceasefire, Israel is waiting for Hamas to release the next group of hostages it is holding in Gaza.
After Hamas released 13 Israeli hostages, mothers and their young children and elderly women yesterday, after 49 days, the Israelis are preparing for the release of another group of 13 hostages, which is expected later today.
The release of the hostages is part of a temporary ceasefire agreement that took effect at 7 a.m. Friday.
On the other hand, Israel released 39 Palestinian women and minor children from prison.
The interim truce agreement between Israel and Hamas includes a four-day pause in fighting, the first since seven weeks of fighting that began on October 7 with a Hamas attack on Israeli territory, and the release of a total of about 50 Israeli hostages in groups of about a dozen a day, The Times of Israel reports.
The four-day truce could potentially be extended by one day for each group of 10 more hostages released by Hamas, Israeli authorities said.
As part of a separate deal, Hamas on Friday released 11 foreign nationals — 10 Thais and one Filipino — who were also abducted during the Oct. 7 attack.
On Friday evening, Israel received a list of hostages who should be freed today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
As Israel’s Channel 12 learns, there are 13 names on the list again, but now there are more children on it, while only four children were among those released on Friday.
Hamas and other Palestinian militant factions kidnapped about 240 people, including about 40 children, in an attack on October 7.
At least 60 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, and 130,000 liters of fuel will be delivered each day of the ceasefire to the Palestinian enclave, which is also part of the Qatari-brokered deal between Israel and Hamas.
