Hamas releases hostages in Gaza; 12 Thai nationals relesed

TEL AVIV: A four-day ceasefire came into effect today, marking a temporary end to the forty-eight-day war in Gaza. The firing was called off at 7 am local time (10.30 Indian time). No attacks were reported today.

Hamas reportedly released 13 Israeli hostages and 39 Palestinian prisoners by Israel as the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. The Israeli hostages, who included women and children, were handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. They were then taken in ambulances to the Egyptian border crossing of Rafah, where they were picked up by the Israeli military. The hostages He will be flown to Hatzerim Airbase by an Israeli military helicopter.

Israel freed 24 Palestinian women and 15 children, mostly from the occupied West Bank. They were taken from Damon and Megiddo prisons in Haifa to Ofer prison in Ramallah for handover to the Red Cross.

The Israeli army announced that preparations to receive the hostages had been completed with an agreement that Israel would release 150 Palestinians and Hamas 50 Israelis over the course of four days.

In addition to the Israelis, Hamas has also released 12 hostages who are natives of Thailand. It is reported that the release of the Thai citizens was not related to the agreement made with the mediation of Qatar. The Egyptian State Information Service said that their release was made possible by the intervention of Egypt. The Thai Prime Minister informed that the embassy officials were going to pick them up, BBC reports.