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.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has signaled his country's desire for full normalization with Lebanon, just ahead of a key round of peace talks scheduled in Washington.
Israeli and Lebanese envoys will meet for U.S.-mediated talks in Washington on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to calm weeks of Israeli fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has threatened to derail a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.