Israel-Hamas war: Temporary truce to begin on Friday morning with first hostages to be freed, Qatar said

Temporary truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is set to begin at 7am on Friday, Qatar has said, as 13 women and children hostages held by militants in the Palestinian territory will be the first to be released.

Meanwhile, Hamas has agreed to free 50 Israeli women and child hostages held by militants in Gaza, in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails. Israel has said the truce could last beyond the initial four days as long as the militants free at least 10 hostages per day.

The agreed-upon ceasefire, initially scheduled to commence at 10am local time on Thursday (8am UK time), had been formally established and verified on Wednesday morning. However, over a day later, the anticipated announcement of the official start time had not been made.

Facilitated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US, the negotiated agreement involves the Red Cross visiting hostages and delivering medication. Both parties have indicated their intention to resume fighting once the ceasefire concludes.