Israel and Hamas halt fighting as four-day ceasefire begins

이-하마스, 나흘간의 휴전 시작 첫날 인질 13명 석방 In the Middle East. A four-day ceasefire went into effect in Gaza, starting Friday morning, following which Hamas will release 13 Israeli women and child hostages. For the first time after 48 days of war, no sound of artillery fire, airstrikes and rockets. Ahn Sung-jin has the latest. Israel and Hamas began a four-day ceasefire on Friday morning. CNN journalists in the south of Israel said the sounds of artillery fire, airstrikes and rockets stopped around 20 minutes after the ceasefire took effect at 7 am. As a part of the truce, Hamas is set to release thirteen women and children later in the day, after Qatar mediated a deal to free hostages held in Gaza. A total of 50 hostages, out of some 2-hundred-40 people kidnapped by Hamas, will be freed over the four-day ceasefire, while 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons will also be released in exchange, starting with 39 on Friday. The pause between Israel Defense Forces and Hamas comes following nearly 7 weeks of fighting after Hamas launched attacks on Israel on October 7th. Humanitarian aid is also being delivered to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Crossing, the only access point now for assistance to enter the enclave. According to Egypt's State Information Service, some 1-hundred-30-thousand liters of diesel fuel and four trucks of gas will enter Gaza from Egypt daily starting Friday. Humanitarian supplies including food, medicine and water will also enter the strip on two hundred trucks. According to officials in Gaza, since the October 7th attack, nearly 15-thousand people have died in Gaza, including over 6-thousand children, while around 36-thousand people have been injured. And the death toll could be even higher, with the authorities in Gaza pointing to difficulties in retrieving bodies as the war escalated. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear that Israel's military campaign will continue after the pause. “We'll continue with our war aims, mainly to eradicate Hamas.“ Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, speaking to IDF naval personnel on Thursday, also vowed that Israel would resume “intense“ fighting after the “short“ truce. Ahn Sung-jin, Arirang News. #Israel #Gaza #Hamas #Hostage #Ceasefire #이스라엘 #가자_지구 #인질_석방 #휴전 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-11-24, 18:00 (KST)