Shaky truce holds in Gazaas Israel greets hostages
GAZA-ISRAEL BORDER—Israel and Hamas started a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday that appeared to be holding shakily with no major reports of bombings, artillery strikes or rocket attacks, although both sides were accused of violations.
The first pause in a 48-day-old war began at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), involving a ceasefire in north and south Gaza, the release of 13 Israeli women and child hostages by the militants later in the day and aid to flow into the devastated Palestinian enclave.
Ahead of the 4 p.m., local time, turnover of the first Israelis to go free from Gaza, Israel’s air force published images of dolls, colorful throw-rugs and personal hygiene kits set up at locations to receive them by helicopter.
Hamas is due to deliver the group—among around 240 people held in the Gaza Strip since the Palestinian militants’ Oct. 7 killing spree in southern Israel—to neighboring Egypt.
In return, Israel will release 39 Palestinians from its jails.
“Today is the first light at the end of the tunnel,” an air force lieutenant colonel was shown saying in a video briefing. “We are all in this together.”
Privacy
A military statement asked the public to respect hostages’ privacy. After landing in Israel, they will receive preliminary medical care and be sent to several hospitals for reunions with their families.
A Reuters correspondent near the northern part of Gaza heard no Israeli air force activity overhead, and saw no tell-tale contrails typically left by Palestinian rocket launches.
Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen TV reported that no sounds of bombing were heard in Gaza since the start of the truce. But it said Israeli forces were preventing residents from returning to their homes in the densely populated northern part of the enclave.
Soldiers opened fire in one incident, Al Jazeera said, but there was no indication that it resulted in casualties.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which had earlier issued a call on Palestinians to stay away from the northern Gaza Strip, which it described as a “dangerous war zone.”
‘Achievements’
A Reuters correspondent saw dozens of Israeli military vehicles, including tanks, moving away from the Gaza Strip. Several soldiers in the armored column said they had been pulled out of the Palestinian territory.
Sirens sounded in two Israeli villages outside the southern Gaza Strip, warning of possible incoming Palestinian rockets. An Israeli government spokesperson said Hamas had carried out a rocket launch in violation of the truce but there were no immediate reports of damage.
In Khan Younis town in southern Gaza, where streets were filled with people, Palestinian Khaled Abu Anzah told Reuters: “We are full of hope, optimism, and pride in our resistance. We are proud of our achievements, despite the pain this caused.” —REUTERS
