A four-day truce between Hamas and Israel officially came into effect on Friday.
In total, 50 hostages are set to be released © Mena Today
A four-day truce between Hamas and Israel, aimed at facilitating the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, officially came into effect on Friday at 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT).
This "humanitarian pause," negotiated with the involvement of Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, comes as the war between Israel and Hamas enters its 49th day.
The first releases of hostages (13 women and children) are expected around 14:00 GMT.
In total, 50 hostages are set to be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners during this ceasefire.
A Lebanese official denied on Thursday a Reuters report that Beirut had agreed with Israel to a shortlist of countries that could send troops to Lebanon to verify the disarmament of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and said it was following up on the issue with Washington.
Israel won't withdraw from southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, the defence minister said on Thursday, qualifying remarks he made a day earlier that had suggested Israeli forces would occupy the territory indefinitely and drew U.S. criticism.
Israeli troops clashed with Jewish settlers on Wednesday while trying to disperse them from a West Bank outpost they set up directly in front of Palestinian homes, and later withdrew from the area after failing to clear the settlers, witnesses said.
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