4-day truce begins; Israeli hostages handed over at border: Egyptian sources

Summary

• Four-day Gaza truce agreed by Hamas and Israel takes effect for first time after seven weeks of war.
• More than 14,800 people killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas's attacks stands at about 1,200.
• The Gaza Strip endures night of intensified bombardment from "air, land, and sea" ahead of start of Qatar-mediated truce, UN says.
• Another Palestinian journalist, Amal Zuhd, and family members killed in Gaza City, according to the Wafa news agency.
• Israeli military raids continue overnight across the occupied West Bank where some 211 Palestinians have been killed since start of war.

Live Reporting

9:15pm

Israeli hostages handed over at border: Egyptian sources

Egyptian sources have told the BBC that Egyptian officials have received the Israeli hostages from the Red Cross and Red Crescent at the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza.

Israeli officials will now to take them to Arish Airport and then fly them to an Israeli military airbase.

9:00pm

Palestinian families wait anxiously for news

Footage from outside Israel's Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank shows the gathered families of Palestinian prisoners still waiting for their release of their loved ones, reports Al Jazeera.

At least 39 Palestinian women and teenage boys are slated for release under the deal.

Members of the media and people gather at Rafah border as Hamas are expected to release hostages as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, as seen from southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

8:52pm

Israeli captives have been transferred to the Red Cross in Gaza

Israeli TV stations are saying that the Israeli captives have been transferred to the Red Cross in Gaza and are on their way to the crossing with Egypt, reports Al Jazeera.

The Times of Israel said, the first group of Israeli hostages are now in the hands of the staff of the International Committee for Red Cross and are in ambulances on the way from Khan Younis in southern Gaza to the Rafah crossing into Israel, an Israeli official says.

The families of the hostages are on their way to hospitals in Israel, where they are to be reunited later.

Today's release of 13 hostages — mothers and children — is the first of four expected stages. Hamas has agreed to release some 50 hostages over the four days of the truce with Israel — all children, mothers and other women. The sides agreed that Hamas may eventually free more, in exchange for an extension of the ceasefire by an extra day for each 10 Israeli hostages, the Times of Israel added.

The released hostages are only a small group out of some 240 held in Palestine. Israel is set to release 150 Palestinian prisoners, all of them women and minors, in return for the 50 Israelis. It will free 39 today in return for the first 13 Israelis to return.

8:24pm

Hostage release deal: What's happening when?

Here's what's expected to happen, according to BBC, in the next few minutes and hours, 

At around 14:00 GMT (16:00 local time), 13 hostages currently in Gaza are set to be released by Hamas into the custody of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who will then take them to Egypt at the Rafah border.

According to the Israeli military, they are expected to be in Israel by around 16:00 GMT, where they will be given an initial medical assessment at an airbase.

The 13 will then be taken to hospital via helicopter to be reunited with their families.

Their names have not been published, but we do know that they will all be women and children.

Once the hostages have been transferred, 39 Palestinian detainees are set to be released from Israel's Ofer prison - which is located in the Occupied West Bank - into the custody of the ICRC.

Their names have been released and we know the list contains 24 female and 15 males names,

They will be transferred to an Israeli military checkpoint in the West Bank and then allowed to return home, according to Israel's prison service.

Buses ready to pick up the released Palestinians have arrived at the prison in advance of the deal, while Israeli ambulances have been sent to the Kerem-Shalom border area in southern Israel earlier.

Source: BBC

8:18pm

Truce might 'give families a chance to bury the dead'

Palestinians in Gaza might be able to use the truce to look for children buried under the rubble or bury the dead, James Elder, a Unicef spokesperson who arrived in Gaza on Thursday, says. BBC reports.

"There's north of a 1,000 children that are probably buried under the rubble so perhaps the ceasefire will give people a chance to look for family members, perhaps it will give families a chance to bury the dead," Elder told the BBC's Today programme.

Elder says everything bears the marks of devastation, "whether you've got these frightened faces of children or whether you have those shattered walls and broken windows, it's all telling this story of this relentless assault".

He also describes twisted steel and crumbling concrete, which he says are a testimony to the "brutal forces" at play.

Elder stresses that he is in the south of the Gaza strip, not the north, where the devastation is much more severe.

As we've been reporting, the IDF has told Palestinians in Gaza not to return to north Gaza, which is still an active war zone.

8:15pm

Thai PM says 12 Thai hostages released by Hamas

The Thai Prime Minister says that 12 Thai nationals held hostage by Hamas in Gaza have been released, reports BBC.

It follows the Egyptian State Information Service saying: "Intensive Egyptian efforts resulted in the release of 12 Thai nationals."

There has been no comment from Hamas.

The release of Thai nationals is not part of the deal between Israel and Hamas that was brokered by Qatar.

8:13pm

Netanyahu, Gallant will monitor hostage deal from IDF headquarters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will be at the IDF Operations Directorate's command center at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv during the hostage deal, the Prime Minister's Office says in a statement, reports the Times of Israel.

"The prime minister and defense minister will closely monitor the operation to bring the Israelis freed from Hamas captivity to Israel," the statement says.

Netanyahu will be joined by National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and his military secretary, Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, and Gallant will be joined by his military secretary, Brig. Gen. Guy Markizeno, and his chief of staff Shachar Katz.

6:57pm

'Anyone who poses a threat to our forces in Gaza will be hit'

A senior officer in the Israeli defense forces in Southern Command says troops will respond to any attempt at harming them amid the ceasefire, while the army spends its time preparing for the resumption of fighting, reports the Times of Israel..

"Anyone who poses a threat to our forces will be hit. The security of our forces is a top priority, that's how we behaved and that's how we will continue to behave," the officer says.

He says the ground offensive "and the operational achievements put pressure on Hamas and its leadership, and served as a necessary tool to create conditions for the implementation of the plan to return some of the hostages.

"We will use most of the time for the sake of readiness and planning the tasks expected of us immediately after the end of the truce. We are preparing to continue attacking with all our strength immediately after the end of the truce," he adds.

6:38pm

2 Palestinians killed, 11 wounded trying to reach north Gaza

2 Palestinians killed, 11 wounded trying to reach north Gaza despite Israeli defense forces warnings quoting AP reporting the Times of Israel.

AP reports that Israeli troops fatally shot two Palestinians and wounded 11 others as they headed toward the main combat zone in northern Gaza despite warnings by the Israeli army to stay put.

There is no immediate comment from the Israeli defense forces..

An Associated Press journalist says he saw two bodies and the wounded as they arrived at a hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah in the southern half of Gaza. The injured had been shot in the legs.

The shooting came hours after the Israeli military warned hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who sought refuge in southern Gaza not to attempt to return to their homes in the northern half of the territory, the focus of Israel's ground offensive. The military had dropped leaflets on southern Gaza saying that returning to northern Gaza is prohibited and dangerous.

Despite this, since a four-day truce went into effect this morning, hundreds of Palestinians were seen trying to head to northern Gaza. The military said it responded with riot dispersal measures to attempts to move north. Witnesses asserted that troops opened fire in some cases.

5:20pm

Israel says preparations for receiving captives completed

The Israeli army says it has prepared several locations dedicated to the initial reception of the released captives, including necessary medical provisions and support, reports BBC.

"After the initial reception and medical treatment, the released hostages will continue to hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families," it said in a statement.

The Israeli army added that four helicopters with medical teams and soldiers on board will be tasked with completing the return of the captives after their reception.

Meanwhile, Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas's political bureau, says the group is open to negotiating to release even more civilian captives currently held in Gaza, including men.

However, in regards to Israeli soldiers held captive, Hamad told Al Jazeera, "This is another story".

"At this phase, we are talking about the civilian hostages. Regarding others, we are looking for a comprehensive swap and exchange to release all [7,200] prisoners in Israeli detention centres. This is our goal and aim," Hamad said.

"But we will wait and see. We have full patience, power and energy to do that … Israel must release all the prisoners, and we are ready to release the Israeli soldiers."

5:15pm

Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners due to be released to West Bank

Later today, 39 Palestinian prisoners are due to arrive in the West Bank when released from Israeli jails in exchange for 13 hostages held by Hamas, reports BBC.

From the West Bank BBC reporter Lucy Williamson said, the 39 prisoners will be chosen from a list of 300 women and young people compiled by Israel, accused of a range of offences, from throwing stones to attempted murder.

The vast majority of them are being held without trial. Most of those listed are teenage boys – with 40% under the age of 18.

Families of the 39 prisoners due for release today will gather later at a nearby checkpoint to receive them.

Human rights organisations say the number of Palestinians held without charge in Israeli jails has shot up since the 7 October attacks.

There are now thought to be more than 6,000 Palestinians held by Israel on security grounds – many still awaiting trial.

Almost every Palestinian family in the West Bank is thought to have had a relative detained by Israel at some point in the past – often in jails inside Israel, making it difficult or impossible for their relatives to visit.

5:06pm

Israeli forces to receive hostages with air teams, therapists, toys

The Israeli defense forces say it has completed preparations for the reception of the released hostages from the Gaza Strip, reports Al Jazeera.

Once released from the Gaza Strip via Egypt, the hostages will be brought by the IDF to Hatzerim Airbase in southern Israel for an initial reception, where they will undergo a short physical and mental checkup.

The military has prepared psychologists and mental health experts to greet the hostages, many of whom are children. The experts will explain to them what happened in their community on October 7 when they believe the time is right.

Toys await child hostages released for captivity at Hatzerim Airbase in southern Israel, November 24, 2023. Photo Times of Israel/Israel Defence Forces-IDF

The IDF has brought phones for the hostages so that they can call their relatives immediately upon arriving at Hatzerim, the Times of Israel added.

The released hostages will remain for up to two hours at Hatzerim before being taken to a hospital, either by helicopter or minibus. The helicopters will be flying in a more comfortable and quiet mode.

Those who need immediate medical attention will be taken straight from the border to a hospital, without going to Hatzerim.

The families of the hostages are waiting at the hospitals, and hotel rooms have been reserved in the area.

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4:56pm

Reports of Palestinians being shot at as they try to move north in Gaza

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that at least seven people have been injured after being shot while attempting to head into north Gaza, reports Al Jazeera.

Eyewitnesses in the Wadi Gaza area say Israeli troops targeted people trying to return home, according to Wafa.

Israel has previously said it would not allow people to return to north Gaza during the pause in fighting, as it says the area is still an active warzone.

The Israeli military says it is looking into the reports and will update the BBC soon.

From Jerusalem, Yolande Knell of BBC reports that videos are circulating on social media that appear to show Palestinians being shot at as they try to head from the south of Gaza to the north of the strip.

In some videos, there are large crowds running from bursts of gunfire. At least one man is reported to have been shot dead and several others seriously wounded.

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4:42pm

A recap by Al Jazeera

It's 12:25pm (10:25 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel, and these are the most significant developments in the past few hours:

• Displaced Palestinians are trying to get to their homes but Israel says movement to northern Gaza is not allowed.
• Gaza residents say their happiness about the pause in Israeli attacks is accompanied by feelings of grief and uncertainty about the future.
• Trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including tankers with fuel and cooking gas, are moving into Gaza from Rafah crossing.
• Families of Palestinian prisoners and captives held in Gaza wait for news of their loved ones ahead of expected release later on Friday of 39 and 13 people, respectively.

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4:02pm

Israeli forces maintain raids in the occupied West Bank

While there is a pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have continued their raids across the occupied West Bank, reports Al Jazeera.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society said a 22-year-old Palestinian was killed during a raid in Jericho.

Another Palestinian who was critically wounded in a raid on Tulkarem, has also died of his wounds.

According to video footage posted on social media and verified by Al Jazeera, Israeli forces this morning also arrested several people in the town of Tarqumiyah, west of Hebron.

At least 231 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7, including six prisoners who died in Israeli custody.

3:43pm

Hostages will be taken to Israel via Egypt

Hostages will be taken to Israel via Egypt and on the Egyptian side of the crossing they will meet Israeli security forces, reports BBC.

Here is updates from BBC's Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell, now reporting from Jerusalem.

"After that shaky start things are steadying off in regards to the truce.

We are getting a picture of more aid going in to the Gaza Strip, there is this period of safe passage that's been allowed for Palestinians and people are moving around increasingly on the ground.

What we are waiting for is 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT), that is when we understand that the first 13 of 50 Israeli hostages are going to be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

They will be brought out through Egypt's Rafah crossing and then there is a whole protocol for what happens.

On the Egyptian side of the crossing, they will meet Israeli security forces, they have to have identities checked, they'll undergo initial medical checks and then they will be taken to Israel by helicopter.

They'll then be taken to hospital to have further medical checks, and will then be reunited with their families.

After that it will then be a couple of hours - according to the terms of the agreement – until the first Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails."

3:35pm

Truce lets people 'pick up pieces', search for missing loved ones: Al Jazeera

Gaza resident Ashraf Shann spoke to Al Jazeera about the truce and the possibility of a more permanent peace for Palestinians:

"Well, my feelings are mixed because, on one point, I have nowhere to go back to even if [the Israelis] allow us to go back to Gaza City. My house was bombed and completely destroyed on the third day of the war.

"At the same time, I'm happy for those people whose loved ones are missing. At least they can go and pick up the pieces and try to search for them. We are also happy that some sort of aid is coming. My family is made up of 12 people and we are internally displaced persons. This is the first time this has happened to us.

"We've been through wars since 2008 and even my youngest boy – he's almost 13 – had to go through five wars.

"I'm really worried about the trauma, the psychological trauma that most of us are going through. Including myself, of course. We're all traumatised by this war and we are hoping for peace. Peace for everyone.

"Living here for 27 years in Gaza and seeing the Israeli aggression, the onslaughts, and wars, I don't think [peace] will last for long."

Source: Al Jazeera

2:19pm

A recap by Al Jazeera

1:40pm

Israel drops leaflets warning displaced Palestinians against moving north: Al Jazeera

1:22pm

UK prime minister hails start of truce: Al Jazeera

1:18pm

Video shows Israeli soldiers celebrating bombing of Gaza buildings before truce

1:00pm

Official at Rafah crossing confirms flow of aid

Al Jazeera reported earlier about the first aid trucks beginning to cross into Gaza from Egypt.

There is now also a statement by the spokesperson of the Rafah crossing administration confirming the flow of aid and fuel trucks into the Gaza Strip.

"We expect 230 trucks to enter today," the spokesperson said.

A man pulls a cart with flour bags as Palestinians gather to receive flour distributed by UNRWA, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip November 23, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

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12:48pm

David Cameron to hold talks with Palestinian leaders

David Cameron will today hold talks with Palestinian leaders on the second day of his visit to the Middle East, reports BBC, quoting their Diplomatic correspondent James Landale. 

The UK foreign secretary said the country would provide a further £30m to tackle what he called the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The money would go towards supporting the United Nations and other agencies on the ground delivering lifesaving aid, including shelter and medical provision.

He said Britain was urgently looking into all avenues to get support into Gaza, including by land, air and sea.

Lord Cameron said the importance of the hostage deal was not just that some captives would come home, but also that a pause in the fighting would allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

In his talks with Palestinian leaders, Lord Cameron is expected to discuss a longer-term political solution to the crisis.

12:43pm

People 'rejoicing' after first hour of truce, hope pause becomes permanent

Tareq Abu Azzoum from Khan Younis, southern Gaza, tells Al Jazeera that this is the first hour after 48 days of relentless airstrikes and attacks between both sides, Hamas and Israel.

He writes: Palestinians are absolutely rejoicing in these precious moments, and being able to again relax and be safe from Israeli strikes.

"But the hours that preceded the ceasefire announcement was full of intensified Israeli bombing across the Gaza Strip. During these hours several attacks took place in Rafah and Khan Younis city in the south of the Gaza Strip. And artillery shelling did not stop, particularly in the north of the strip" he told Al Jazeera.

Tareq Abu Azzoum added that now the sky over the Gaza Strip has become clear of Israeli drones. This is the first time that we have not heard Israeli drones since the beginning of this round of fighting.

People sense that there is a glimmer of hope that this short-term ceasefire will pave the way for a longer ceasefire, he concludes.

Palestinians walk on a street during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Novemeber 24, 2023. REUTERS/Saleh Salem

12:33pm

Southern Gaza residents heading home, video shows

Journalist Ayman al-Jadi has shared footage showing Palestinian families beginning to return to their homes in the southern areas of the Gaza Strip after the start of the truce. Al Jazeera reported with contributions from local social network posts.

12:19pm

Before truce, IDF destroys Hamas tunnel under Shifa hospital, completes new deployment

Shortly before the ceasefire commenced, the IDF demolished a Hamas tunnel discovered under Gaza City's Shifa Hospital, as well as completed its deployment on the ceasefire lines, reports the Times of Israel.

In a statement, IDF says the 36th Division and soldiers of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit destroyed the tunnel under Shifa, as well as other entrances in the area.

The IDF says that over the last day, up until the 7 a.m. truce, it continued to strike Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, searched for the terror group's infrastructure, and clashed with operatives.

In the last hour, the IDF says it has completed its "operational deployment on the truce lines."

A video published by the IDF shows the tunnel at Shifa being destroyed, as well as several other recent strikes in Gaza, Times of Israel added.

12:15pm

Qatar to monitor four-day truce in real time for possible violations

Journalist James Bays reporting from Doha, Qatar, tells Al Jazeera that Qatar has an operations room here in Doha where they are going to get real-time information from Gaza. They have direct links with the Israeli military, with Hamas.

The idea is that if there is any sort of violation, that because of those direct links, they are going to try and nip it in the bud and make sure that this truce can continue, that this process can continue for the four days, he added.

And then, they are hoping, that it can continue beyond the four days.

But, it is worth reminding everyone that as we see scenes of calm for the first time in Gaza for seven weeks, what the Israeli government is saying. And that is, their war is not over. They still want to destroy Hamas.

So for the poor people of Gaza, this is an important respite, James Bays writes.

12:10pm

No sounds of fighting for last 20 minutes: BBC

Anna Foster from from southern Israel reports for BBC: The four-day ceasefire began almost an hour ago, but we did hear, for around 15 minutes or so, continuing occasional explosions.

She writes: You can still see a hint on the skyline of the last air strikes in the 20 or 30 minutes leading up to the beginning of the temporary ceasefire.

The Israeli military really did continue their operation right until the ceasefire began, and slightly afterwards it appears - certainly from what we could hear and see over Gaza, she continued. 

"I can hear a drone in the sky above but we haven't heard any arms fire, mortars, explosions, or any real sound of fighting for at least 20 mins or so. It looks like the ceasefire is firmly in place", she added.

12:01pm

IDF drops flyers telling Gazans not to return to Strip's north

In a breaking update the Times of Israel said, IDF drops flyers telling Gazans not to return to Strip's north as it's still a war zone. It is warning residents not to return to their homes in the Strip's north since the area is still a war zone, despite a four-day ceasefire that has commenced.

The media added that Palestinian officials have been calling on displaced Gazans to return to their homes once the truce begins.

The IDF spokesperson in Arabic, Avichay Adraee, has similarly issued a statement telling Gazans the war is not over.

11:55am

Israeli military warns 'war is not over yet'

A few moments before the official start of the temporary ceasefire, the Israeli military posted a video on social media warning people in Gaza that "the war is not over yet", reports BBC.

"The humanitarian pause is temporary," says Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces spokesman, who was speaking in Arabic.

"The northern Gaza Strip is a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move north. For your safety, you must remain in the humanitarian zone in the south," he tells Gazans.

Israeli soldiers stand on a tank, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, near Israel's border with Gaza in southern Israel, November 23, 2023. Photo credit: REUTERS

11:50am

'Relative calm' descends over Gaza as truce starts

Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, confirms that the truce has started and attacks have ceased, but not before a night of intense air strikes by Israel.

"We are witnessing a relative calm, that is gradually becoming more and more visible as there is a complete stop of fighter jets flying over the Gaza Strip," Mahmoud said.

"But, the hours preceding the ceasefire becoming effective were the bloodiest for Palestinians living in northern parts, Gaza City, and all the way to the southern parts – the safe areas designated by the Israeli military for people to move to avoid getting bombed in the north," he said.

11:05am

Truce in Gaza starts

Israel and Hamas started a four-day ceasefire on Friday with the fighters set to release 13 Israeli women and child hostages later in the day and aid to flow into the besieged Gaza enclave, the first pause in the near seven-week-old war.

The truce began at 7am (0500 GMT), involving a comprehensive ceasefire in north and south Gaza, and was to be followed by the release of some of the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas during the fighters' 7 October attack inside Israel, mediators in Qatar said.

Gaza truce appears to hold initially as Israel, Hamas start ceasefire

A number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons were to be freed in exchange.

Fighting raged on in the hours leading up to the truce, with officials inside the Hamas-ruled enclave saying a hospital in Gaza City was among the targets bombed.

Both sides also signalled the pause would be temporary before fighting resumes.

What's expected to happen today

• The first group of Israeli captives – 13 women and children –  will be released at about 4pm local time (14:00 GMT).
• The Red Cross will escort them to the Rafah border crossing and hand them over to the Israeli military who will begin the identification process.
• The captives will be taken to hospitals in Tel Aviv for physical and psychological tests.
• Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners are also going to be released from Israel as part of the swap on the first day.
• They will be taken from two Israeli prisons: Damon and Megiddo, both southeast of Haifa.
• They will then be driven to the Ofer prison, south of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and from there to a nearby crossing and handed over to their families.
• Much-needed humanitarian aid is also expected to cross from Egypt into Gaza in the hours that follow.
• Hamas says 200 aid trucks and more trucks of fuel will enter Gaza daily.

source: Al Jazeera

11:00am

Smoke rises above skyline ahead of pause in fighting

With around 15 minutes to go until the temporary ceasefire is due to begin, smoke can be seen in the sky as fighting continues up to the wire, reports BBC.

Smoke rises in Gaza, due to Israeli airstrikes before the start of a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, as seen from southern Israel November 24, 2023. REUTERS

10:55am

Israeli forces intensifying shelling throughout Gaza overnight as truce approaches

The Times of Israel in a breaking news alert said with hours to go until the multi-day truce kicks in at 7 a.m., IDF troops have been carrying out intense shelling of terror targets throughout the night across the Gaza Strip, the Kan public broadcaster reports, citing Palestinian media.

The IDF strikes have been targeting the Jabalia, Nuseirat and al-Maghazi refugee camps in northern Gaza while exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen have been reported in nearby Beit Lehia, according to the Israeli media.

10:36am

Air strike in Gaza with under an hour until ceasefire

BBC's Anna Foster, reporting from Sderot, southern Israel, said, she just arrived at the Sderot outlook in southern Israel and still hearing the sounds of mortar fire. 

She writes:

There's less than an hour left until the ceasefire is meant to begin - but we're still hearing sounds of constant small arms and mortar fire in Gaza, and flares are visible in the sky.

And now an air strike. Drones can be heard too.

It seems the Israeli army is continuing its operation inside Gaza until the last moment.

10:11am

Casualty fears after Israeli strike hits Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp

An intense Israeli strike hit a residential building located in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, reports Al Jazeera.

A video posted on the Al Jazeera Arabic website showed several rescue workers standing next to a destroyed building with a major part of its concrete roof completely shattered by the strike.

Children are reportedly among the casualties in an attack that took place just hours before a four-day truce is set to start at 05:00 GMT.

9:33am

Gaza bombed from 'air, land and sea' ahead of truce: UN

Israel intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip from "air, land and sea" over the 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday afternoon ahead of a truce scheduled to start on Friday, citing the UN reports says Al Jazeera.

"Many casualties have been reported," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) states in its latest situation report on Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The UNOCHA also reports:

• Approximately 200 patients and medical staff are awaiting evacuation from the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, which is surrounded by Israeli tanks and came under renewed fire from Israeli forces on Thursday night. The extent of the damage to the hospital, which was built with funds donated by Indonesia, was not stated.
• An infant in an incubator was among three children who died at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza's Jabalia area on Wednesday due to a lack of electricity, while there were "dozens of fatalities" from Israeli bombing in the vicinity of the hospital.
• Air strikes on residential buildings in southern Gaza's Rafah and Khan Younis areas on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon killed at least 28 people and wounded many others.
• During the same 24-hour period, Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank's Nablus and shot and killed a Palestinian man travelling in his vehicle in Ramallah. Since October 7, 211 Palestinians – 54 of them children – have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. Four Israelis have been killed during the same period.
• As of Thursday, 75 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel's ground invasion.

8:55am

Israel rejects Hamas ceasefire demand to evacuate Gaza's Shifa: report

Israeli forces spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari on Thursday evening noted that no aspect of the hostage deal is set in stone "until it happens...it is subject to changes," he said in a daily briefing, Jerusalem Post. 

R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari on Thursday evening noted that no aspect of the hostage deal is set in stone "until it happens...it is subject to changes," he said in a daily briefing.

"We have difficult days of grief and happiness ahead of us," Hagari said. "We embarked on a long journey and we have targets to achieve - destroy Hamas, bring the hostages home, and bring order to the region and our borders."

The spokesperson stressed that, as part of the agreement, Israeli forces will remain inside the ceasefire line marked inside the Gaza Strip. The IDF will have freedom of movement in that area for the duration of the ceasefire, he added.

8:43am

Another Palestinian journalist reported killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza City

Journalist Amal Zuhd and her family were killed early on Friday morning in an Israeli air attack on their home in Gaza City, quitting Palestinian news agency Wafa reports Al Jazeera.

The number of family members killed in the airstrike was not given by Wafa, which also reported on the death of a Palestinian photojournalist, Mohammad Ayyash, who was killed on Thursday with several members of his family when their home was bombed in Nuseirat in central Gaza.

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate said 63 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Israel's war on the Palestinian enclave began on October 7, Wafa reports.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said that 53 journalists have been confirmed killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict since October 7, including 46 Palestinians, four Israeli and three Lebanese.

CPJ also said it is investigating "numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists' homes" since the war started.

8:38am

Amnesty International chief renews call for lasting ceasefire

The Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard shared a video of Doctors Without Borders official Joseph Belliveau describing the "brutal annihilation" of Gaza's healthcare system as something "beyond what humanitarian aid can fix".

In a post on X, Callamard added: "It stretches way beyond what a humanitarian pause can achieve."

The Amnesty International chief previously urged all the parties involved in negotiating the four-day truce in Gaza to work to extend it into a "sustained ceasefire", reports Al Jazeera.

7:00am

World Food Programme says it has 100 trucks ready once truce starts

The World Food Programme (WFP) says it has more than 100 trucks with around 1,300 tonnes of food supplies ready to enter Gaza once the temporary truce comes into effect, reports BBC.

The deal between Israel and Hamas will see a four-day pause in the conflict starting at 07:00 (5:00 GMT) today. In the afternoon, Hamas will free 13 hostages it kidnapped from Israel last month, followed by the release of some Palestinian prisoners.

Speaking to the BBC, the WFP's Middle East spokesperson, Abeer Etefa, says while the temporary truce is a "step forward", only a total ceasefire will allow humanitarian needs in Gaza to be properly met.

Over) the course of the next four days, more aid trucks hopefully will be able to enter. But people need food every day, they need bread every day, and four days of a break and four days worth of aid will not make a meaningful difference in this ocean of needs to truly be able to respond to the humanitarian needs in Gaza, the pause must continue and the steady flow of aid must be sustained at scale."

Abeer Etefa

6:55am

Egypt says diesel, gas to be delivered daily to Gaza during truce

The Egyptian government says 130,000 litres of diesel and four trucks of gas will be delivered each day, reports Al Jazeera.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service, also said in a statement that 200 trucks of aid would enter Gaza daily.

For weeks, Israel blocked fuel from entering Gaza as part of its siege on the Palestinian enclave.

Shortages forced hospitals, bakeries and other facilities to shut down, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis.