Gaza residents react to truce amid heavy losses
A truce between Israel and Hamas will begin Friday at 7 a.m. local time (midnight ET), with 13 civilian hostages to be released by Hamas hours later, Qatar announced. More will follow, with a total of 50 hostages freed over four days, while Palestinian prisoners are also released in waves.
Israel expects at least 2 more months of fighting against Hamas, defense minister says
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel’s military operation against Hamas will continue “forcefully” after the brief truce beginning Friday, and that the fighting is expected to go on for at least two more months.
"This will be a brief pause. When it ends, the fighting will continue forcefully, and will create pressure that will allow the return of more hostages," Gallant said while visiting Israeli troops on Thursday.
"A fighting of at least two more months is expected," he added.
Palestinian official tells CNN they do not have names of prisoners set for release yet
A Palestinian official with a lead role in the planned prisoner release has told CNN he has not yet received a list of names of those expected to be freed on Friday.
Qadura Fares, the head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs, indicated to CNN he expected about 30 to 35 people to be released tomorrow as a first group.
All prisoners would be released at the Beitunia checkpoint, which is immediately south of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, he said.
Israel has published a list of 300 names of people eligible for release in the exchange. The vast majority are male teenagers aged between 16 to 18 – children under the United Nations definition – although a handful are as young as 14.
Some 33 people on the list are women, according to a CNN count.
Biden says he has "fingers crossed" 3-year-old American will be among hostages released Friday
US President Joe Biden told reporters he has his “fingers crossed” that a 3-year-old American girl being held hostage in Gaza will be among those released Friday in the Israel-Hamas hostage deal, but that he will not be providing any updates until the deal is finished.
“I’ll be able to talk to you guys tomorrow,” he told the traveling media pool in Nantucket, Massachusetts, after greeting first responders. “I’m not prepared to give you an update until it’s done.”
When asked about Abigail Edan, the 3-year-old hostage, he said: “Keeping my fingers crossed.”
The president also said he won't give up until he has freed other Americans held abroad, like Paul Whelan, the former United States Marine, and Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter, who are being held in Russia. The US classifies both as being wrongfully detained.
Israel has notified families of the hostages expected to be released tomorrow
Israel has notified the families of the hostages set to be released on Friday, the country's coordinator for hostages and missing persons, Gal Hirsch, said in a statement.
Hirsch said "liaison officers have informed all of those families whose loved ones appear on the list, as well as all of the hostages' families."
The first hostages expected to be released will include members of the same families leaving together, Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said in a news conference earlier Thursday.
That list of Israeli hostages includes 39 children aged 18 and under; 44 adult women and 89 adult men aged 19 to 64; and 29 people aged 65 and over. The youngest is Kfir Bibas, who is 10 months old; the oldest are Yafa Adar, Shlomo Mansour and Arye Zalmanovich, who are all 85.
The Israel Defense Forces says the estimated total number of hostages — which includes Americans and other foreign nationals — fluctuates with the latest intelligence, but stood at 236 earlier this week.
Qatar says it will receive lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released daily
Qatar will receive a list with the names of hostages expected to be released by Hamas in a "day-by-day process," Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said in a news conference Thursday.
Qatar will hand the names over to the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, which will in turn hand over a list of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released to the Qataris, he added.
“Whenever we have both lists confirmed, this is when we can begin with the process of getting people out,” Al-Ansari said.
Once released, the hostages will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Al-Ansari said.
The truce will begin Friday at 7 a.m. local time (midnight ET), with an initial group of 13 civilian hostages set to be released around 4 p.m. local time, Qatar said Thursday.
