A four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has officially begun, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry.
The temporary truce was scheduled to begin at 7am local time (5am GMT) and is to last for at least four days.
During the pause in fighting, Hamas has pledged to free at least 50 of the about 240 hostages it and other militants took in their October 7 attack on Israel.
In exchange, Israel has agreed to free three Palestinian prisoners for each released hostage. The releases are to take place in stages over the next four days.
During a news conference in Doha, a ministry spokesperson said the first batch of hostages made up of 13 people will be freed from the Gaza Strip at 4pm.
Meanwhile, the director of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital was arrested over ‘extensive terrorist activity’ there under his watch, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) claimed.
The military cited testimonies about the use of the complex as a Hamas command headquarters.
Palestinian health minister Mai Al-Kayla denied the accusations and said the arrest showed that Israel was flouting international humanitarian law.
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