British Foreign Secretary David Cameron visits Kibbutz Be'eriן
(Photo: Israel's Foreign Ministry)
Qatar Foreign Ministry said on Thursday afternoon that 13 Israeli hostages would be released by Hamas on Friday at 4 p.m. The ministry spokesperson said the ceasefire will come into effect at 7 a.m. on Friday.
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"The first group of 13 civilians will be released from captivity in the Gaza Strip tomorrow at 4 p.m. Other captives will be freed in the course of the days of the ceasefire," the spokesperson said. "Humanitarian aid will begin entering the Strip as soon as the ceasefire is in effect. The aid that will arrive is a fraction of what Gaza needs."
The Hamas military wing confirmed the Qatari statement saying the pause in the fighting will last 4 days as of Friday morning. In that time 50 hostages would be released. "Three Palestinian prisoners will be freed for every Zionist one," Hamas said.
The Prime Minister's Office said a list of the names of the first hostages to be released by Hamas has been received and authorities are examining the details in it and are in contact with all hostage families.
Shifa hospital director Dr. Muhammad Abu Salamiyah was arrested on Thursday and was being investigated by the Shin Bet after evidence that the facility was used as a Hamas command center. Troops found a tunnel beneath the hospital used by Hamas, which connects to the underground tunnel system in Gaza, with a large amount of ammunition and evidence that hostages were held there.
Two homes in Kibbutz Menara in the Upper Galilee were hit by anti-tank fire after rocket alert sirens sounded in Western Galilee communities in northern Israel late on Thursday morning. Following the barrage, the terrorist Hezbollah announced that it had launched 48 rockets into Israeli territory.
Earlier on Thursday morning, following rocket alert sirens activated in the Galilee, the IDF spokesman stated that a number of rocket launches from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory were detected. In response, IDF forces attacked the sources of the rocket fire with artillery. In addition, an IDF aircraft identified and attacked an anti-tank squad in the Zerait area. The IDF spokesman also said that during the night a surface-to-air missile was launched at an IDF aircraft in Lebanese territory and was successfully intercepted by Israel's air defense. In response, the IDF attacked the the launcher and a rocket storage station.
Lawsuits filed against the hostage deal ended on Thursday morning after the High Court rejected two more such petitions, and determined that there is no reason to intervene, a day after the court outright rejected the petition filed by the Almagor organization against the deal. The judges determined that there was no grounds for intervention and rejected the claim of discrimination among the hostages.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron , who previously served as the country's prime minister, visited Kibbutz Be'eri with his Israeli counterpart Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Thursday morning.
"World leaders need to see the atrocities of Hamas with their own eyes, and understand that Israel is fighting a terrorist organization worse than ISIS," Cohen said, adding: "Even after the temporary truce for the release of women and children kidnapped to Gaza, Israel will continue fighting until the goals are achieved: the destruction of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip and the release of each and every one of the hostages."
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IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy talks with brigade commanders inside Gaza
(Photo: IDF Spokesman's Unit)
Qatar, which has led the negotiations along with Egypt and the United States for a hostage exchange deal, announced on Thursday morning that the information about the implementation of the deal which would see a limited number of hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and a pause in the fighting, would come in the next few hours.
"The talks regarding the implementation of the cease-fire agreement are progressing positively, and the announcement of the date of the cease-fire entering into force will be in the coming hours. Work continues with both sides and our partners in Cairo and Washington to hasten the start of the agreement," the spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.
The statement comes hours after National Security Council chief Tzachi Hanegbi said that hostages held in Gaza would not be released on Thursday as had been expected, despite Hamas officials declaring a truce will come into effect in the morning hours. "Negotiations for the release of our captives are ongoing and continuous. The release will commence according to the original agreement between the parties, not before Friday," he said in a statement.
A political source told Ynet that one of the reasons for the last-minute delay is that Israel has not received the names of the hostages who will be released. The Wall Street Journal reported that Hamas has provided the name, gender and nationality of most of the hostages, but failed to indicate whether they were alive or not.
Palestinian reports said on Thursday morning that the IDF arrested during the night the director of the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, as well as several medical personnel.
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Families of hostages call for release of loved ones in rally in Tel Aviv
(Photo: REUTERS /Ammar Awad)
The American warship USS Thomas Hudner early Thursday morning shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in the Red Sea area. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, the Houthis have launched missiles and drones at Israeli territory. The last missile was intercepted Wednesday by an F-35 plane, far from Eilat.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who passed by an Israeli restaurant in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York on Wednesday evening broke tables, spray painted the Israeli flag that was displayed at the entrance with a red triangle identified with Hamas terror videos and threatened the employees there. Police officers who were called to the scene remained to secure those present until the protesters left.
"I'm in Israel on a visit and I can't relax, I feel like my team is in danger and I don't know how to help them," said the owner of the Zizi restaurant, Maor Vanuno.
Israeli restaurants in New York have become targets for pro-Palestinian protesters since the beginning of the war. The long-time Jewish institution 2nd Avenue Deli spread pro-Israel posts on social media and donated all its profits for a day to the "Rescue Union," then was vandalized with a swastika at the entrance. The windows of the building that houses a bakery were smashed and defaced with "Free Palestine" graffiti.
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Graffiti and blood smears painted on Herzl-Ner Tamid synagogue in Seattle, Washington
In another anti-Israel incident on the other side of the United States, one of the largest synagogues in Seattle, Washington, Herzl-Ner Tamid, was vandalized Wednesday night with graffiti and blood smears. Some of the grafitti read: "Shame," "Stop killing," "Shame on Israel" and "Cease fire forever." The FBI has opened a hate crime investigation.
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who represents the area, said she was "appalled by the anti-Semitic vandalism." According to her, "This synagogue and its community are so important to our community and my heart is with them. We must continue to condemn the rising hatred wherever we see it."
Hezbollah confirmed the death of Abbas Mohammed Raed, also known as Sarraj Raed, from southern Lebanon, who, according to the organization, was "killed while on his way to Jerusalem." Raed is the son of the chairman of the Hezbollah faction in the Lebanese parliament. Hezbollah has reported 84 deaths from its ranks since the outbreak of the war.
First published: 08:39, 11.23.23