Gaza ceasefire, hostage release to start Friday: Qatar

A truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will start on Friday at 7 am (0500 GMT), with a the first batch of hostages to be released at 4 pm, a spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The truce would include a comprehensive ceasefire in both the north and south of Gaza, Majed Al Ansari told reporters in Doha, adding that Palestinians would also be released from Israeli jails as part of the deal.

The lists of civilians to be released from Gaza had been agreed, Ansari said.

The first pause in the seven-week-old war is meant to be accompanied by the release of 50 women and children hostages captured by Hamas on October 7, in exchange for 150 Palestinian detainees from Israeli jails.

Israel has said the truce could last beyond the initial four days, as long as Hamas frees at least 10 hostages per day.

Ansari said Qatar hoped to negotiate a subsequent agreement to release additional hostages from Gaza by the fourth day of the truce.

Thirteen people would freed initially, all women and children from the same families, Ansari said.

"Obviously every day will include a number of civilians as agreed to total 50 within the four days," the spokesperson added.

Israel and Hamas had announced a deal on Wednesday allowing at least 50 hostages and scores of Palestinian detainees to be freed, during a four-day truce.

The deal, facilitated by Qatar and Egypt is to take effect in stages that can be extended and broadened. It is also intended to provide aid to Gaza's 2.4 million residents.

The agreement follows weeks of war in the besieged enclave after Hamas broke through the militarised Gaza border on October 7 in an unprecedented attack. Israeli officials say about 1,200 people were killed and around 240 taken hostage.

Relentless Israeli bombardments and a ground invasion since then have killed more than 14,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza.