DEVELOPMENT OF THE STORYDEVELOPMENT OF THE STORY,

The ceasefire is set to begin early Friday and 13 prisoners held by Hamas are expected to be released the same day, a Qatari official says.

A four-day ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas begins on Friday morning civilian prisoners The release from Gaza is expected to take place later in the day, a Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said the temporary ceasefire would begin at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and that 13 prisoners held by Hamas would be released at 4 p.m. (2:00 p.m. 00:00 GMT) with increased humanitarian aid aid should reach Gaza “as quickly as possible”.

“The hostages, who come from the same families, will be brought together in the same area,” he said.

“A number of civilians will be present each day, as agreed, a total of 50 over the four days.”

Under the deal, Palestinians would be released from Israeli prisons, which also provided for a cessation of hostilities across the Gaza Strip, he said.

The 13 prisoners set to be released by Hamas are women and children, and Al-Ansari said that while he could not reveal the number of Palestinian prisoners who will be released on Friday, the agreement was in place is “mutual, so we expect a release.” that this will also happen on the Israeli side.”

Al-Ansari also said the Red Cross is coordinating with all parties involved to release prisoners held in Gaza.

“Our main goal here is the safety of the hostages,” he said.

Hamas’ armed wing confirmed in a statement on Telegram that the ceasefire would begin at 7 a.m. local time.

The ceasefire would last four days, during which all military actions by the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing and the Israel Defense Forces would cease, the statement added.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office also said that Israel had received an initial list of hostages to be released from Gaza.

“The relevant authorities are reviewing the details of the list and are currently in contact with all families,” it said in a statement.

The temporary pause comes after several weeks of devastating fighting after Hamas launched an attack According to authorities there, an attack in southern Israel on October 7 killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and more than 240 people were taken hostage.

In Israel, families of the hostages have pleaded for the return of their loved ones. Numerous people from other countries were also captured in the attack.

Israel responded to the attack with an overwhelming assault on the besieged Gaza Strip. cut off access the need for food, electricity and fuel for its more than 2.3 million inhabitants and the destruction of entire districts by air strikes Ground troops Battle with Palestinian fighters in the northern Gaza Strip.

According to Palestinian authorities, at least 14,532 people were killed in the Israeli attack, including 6,000 children, and humanitarian conditions have deteriorated sharply under the constant siege and bombardment. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians did too been displacedwith few options to seek refuge in the densely populated strip.

While humanitarian organizations have stressed that only a lasting ceasefire can ease the level of civilian suffering in Gaza, many Palestinians, exhausted after weeks of endless bombing, have failed to do so welcomed the break as a much-needed break.

Speaking to Al Jazeera after the ceasefire was first announced on Wednesday, Gaza resident Khaled Loz said he planned to use the ceasefire to catch up on sleep.

“That’s the first thing I want to do,” he said. “I’m tired of the constant bombing.”