Smoke billows from Gaza after truce starts

After 48 days of fierce fighting, the temporary truce between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel entered into force in the Gaza Strip at 07:00 local time (0500 GMT) Friday, and will continue for four days.

From then on, all military actions from Al-Qassam, Hamas’ military wing, and the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip should be suspended, according to the agreement reached by the two sides on Wednesday.

While according to the latest report by a China Media Group (CMG) reporter from Sderot — the closest Israeli city to the Gaza Strip, there were still sounds of explosion from Beit Hanoun, a Gazan city about four kilometers away, before the humanitarian pause starts.

War rages on in Gaza as truce delayed until at least Friday

Under the truce, Israeli aircraft would halt operations in southern Gaza and cease flying in northern Gaza for six hours daily, from 10:00 to 16:00.

The truce also includes a swap of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for female and teenage Palestinians jailed in Israel, with each Israeli captive to be exchanged for three Palestinian prisoners.

At least 50 Israeli prisoners would be released over the four days, and the first batch of hostages would be handed over at around 16:00 on Friday.

In addition to hostage exchange, the truce would also allow 200 trucks of relief and medical supplies, along with four trucks of fuel and cooking gas, to enter Gaza daily.

For the Israeli army, they want to prepare for the next phase of fighting during the four-day ceasefire. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday said that after the short ceasefire, the Israeli army will resume their military operation against Hamas “with intensity” for at least two more months.

Basem Naim, head of Hamas’ political and international relations bureau said on the same day that Hamas has gone through stumbled negotiations to reach the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip, which is an important progress for alleviating the suffering of the people in the Strip.

A spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry that serves as the mediator said on Thursday that they hope the two sides of the conflict can keep negotiations going on for the release of more hostages and an extension of the ceasefire.