INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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
7 attack that triggered the war.The cease-fire kicked off at 7 a.m
local time (0500 GMT) and is to last at least four days
Hamas said Israel would free 150 Palestinian prisoners.Both sides will release women and children first
Israel said the truce would be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed.The truce-for-hostages deal was reached in weeks
of intense indirect negotiations, with Qatar, the United States and Egypt serving as mediators
If it holds, it would mark the first significant break in fighting since Israel declared war on Hamas seven weeks ago.The agreement raised
hopes of eventually winding down the war, which has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank and
stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East
Israel has pushed back against such speculation, saying it was determined to resume its massive offensive once the truce ends.A first group
of 13 women and children held by Hamas will be freed Friday afternoon, according to Majed al-Ansari, the spokesman of the Qatari foreign
300 prisoners eligible to be released, mainly teenagers detained over the past year for rock-throwing and other minor offenses.The return of
hostages could lift spirits in Israel, where their plight has gripped the country
Families of the hostages have staged mass demonstrations to pressure the government to bring them home
Qatar said the aid will include fuel, but has given no details on quantities.Israel cut off all imports at the start of the war, except for
a trickle of food, water and medical supplies allowed in from Egypt
The lack of fuel has caused a territory-wide blackout, leaving homes and hospitals reliant on faltering generators.Separately, the Israeli
military dropped leaflets over southern Gaza, warning hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who sought refuge there not to try to
Israel has said it would block attempts to return.The war erupted when several thousand Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel,
killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking scores of hostages, including babies, women and older adults, as well as
Hamas is expected to demand a large number of high-profile prisoners in return for soldiers.The Israeli bombardment, now in its seventh
week, has killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which resumed its detailed count of
casualties in Gaza from the war
The ministry had stopped publishing casualty counts since Nov
but women and minors have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead
The figures do not include updated numbers from hospitals in the north
The ministry says some 6,000 people have been reported missing, feared buried under rubble.The ministry does not differentiate between
civilians and militants in its death tolls
Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, without presenting evidence for its count.Israeli airstrikes continued in the final
hours ahead of the truce.On Thursday afternoon, a strike leveled a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza
At least 12 people were killed, according to officials at nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital.One resident, Hosni Moharib, said his wife and several
Washington has provided extensive military and diplomatic support to Israel since the start of the war.Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
was quoted as telling troops Thursday that their respite will be short and that the war would resume with intensity for at least two more
