Gaza: Humanitarian Pause To Begin On Friday At 7 AM Local Time
Dr. Majed Al Ansari, the official spokesperson of Qatar”s ministry of foreign affairs, said the humanitarian pause in Gaza will begin at 7:00 AM on Friday, November 24. He said the deliberations regarding the humanitarian pause that has been agreed between Israel and Hamas went on all through yesterday until Thursday early morning. During the discussions, the Egyptians and the parties of the conflict were present in Doha.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian government”s media office released the latest casualty details from Israel”s catastrophic attack, and it said the number of Palestinians killed since October 7 has risen to 14,854, including more than 6,150 children.
“The meetings went very well and (it was) in a positive environment, and the results of course, was the implementation plan of the agreement, which we have always said needed to be something that is concrete and on the very ready to create a safe environment for the release of the the hostages,” Dr. Majed Al Ansari said.
In a statement, following the Qatar government”s announcement on Thursday, Hamas said the truce will last for four days, in which Hamas’s Qassam Brigades and other “Palestinian factions” will “halt all military activity”.
The statement said Israeli forces will also halt all military activity throughout the four-day truce.
During this period, Hamas said, Israeli aircrafts will completely stop flying over southern Gaza. Regarding the hostage/prisoner exchange, three Palestinian prisoners will released — women and children– for every Israeli captive released. Within four days, a total of 50 Israeli captives – women and children under the age of 19 – will be released.
According to Qatar, first batch of captives held in Gaza – 13 women and children – will be released at approximately 4pm local time on Friday.
Osama Hamdan, Hamas spokesperson, thanked Qatar and Egypt for their assistance in mediating the humanitarian truce deal that will also 200 aid trucks, including medical supplies for the entire Strip and four fuel trucks, including “cooking gas”.
He blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the delay in securing the deal and said it was supposed to have been agreed “more than 10 days” ago.
On Wednesday morning this week, Qatar announced the success of its joint mediation efforts undertaken with Egypt and US between Israel and Hamas, resulting in an agreement for a humanitarian pause. The Qatar foreign affairs ministry had said on Wednesday that the starting time of the pause will be announced within the next 24 hours and last for four days, subject to extension.
The agreement includes the release of 50 civilian women and children hostages currently held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons, the number of those released will be increased in later stages of implementing the agreement, the statement from the ministry said.
Some reports have said the number of Palestinians to be released is 150.
The humanitarian pause is expected to allow the entry of a larger number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid, including fuel designated for humanitarian needs.
“The State of Qatar affirms its commitment to ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, stop the bloodshed, and protect civilians. In this regard, the State of Qatar appreciates the efforts of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America in reaching this agreement,” the Wednesday statement from Qatar said.
