DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) 鈥 A four-day cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas was set to begin Friday morning, Qatar said after a daylong delay extended the agony for those hoping for some relief from the deal, which is to bring the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
promised some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured , as well as families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during that triggered the war.
was originally set to begin Thursday morning, but it appeared to hit a snag the night before when Israel鈥檚 national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, announced a one-day delay without providing a reason.
On Thursday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari announced the cease-fire will start at 7 a.m. local time Friday (5 a.m. GMT).
He said the two sides had exchanged lists of those to be released, and the first group of 13 women and children held by Hamas would be freed Friday afternoon. He did not say how many Palestinian prisoners would be freed, but officials have said three would be freed for every hostage.
Increased aid for Palestinians will start to enter Gaza 鈥渁s soon as possible,鈥 al-Ansari said. The hope is that the 鈥渕omentum鈥 from this deal will lead to an 鈥渆nd to this violence," he told reporters.
RISING TOLL IN GAZA
Israeli airstrikes continued Thursday. In the afternoon, a strike leveled a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. At least 12 people were killed, according to officials at nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital.
One resident, Hosni Moharib, said his wife and several children were killed and other relatives remained buried under the rubble.
鈥淚t exploded on the house, striking the babies and young children. Everyone in the house, they are all dead,鈥 he said, bursting into tears.
The Israeli bombardment, now in its seventh week, has killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, according to the , which resumed its detailed count of casualties in Gaza from the war. The ministry had stopped publishing casualty counts since Nov. 11, saying it had to do so because of the health system's collapse in the north,
The new numbers were not fully broken down, but women and minors have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead. The figures do not include updated numbers from hospitals in the north. The ministry says some 6,000 people have been reported missing, feared buried under rubble.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its death tolls. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, without presenting evidence for its count.
NETANYAHU SAYS TRUCE WON鈥橳 END WAR
The truce agreement raised hopes of eventually winding down the war, which has , fueled a and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East.
Air-raid sirens sounded across northern Israel on Thursday as Hezbollah said it fired 48 Katyusha rockets from southern Lebanon. The barrage came after an Israeli strike killed five Hezbollah fighters, including the son of the head of the group鈥檚 parliamentary bloc.
The Israeli military said it was striking the sources of the launches. Israel and Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war in 2006, have repeatedly traded fire across the border since the war in Gaza broke out.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war after the truce expires to destroy Hamas鈥 military capabilities, end its 16-year rule in Gaza and return all held in Gaza by Hamas and other groups.
鈥淲e will continue it until we achieve all our goals,鈥 Netanyahu said, adding that he had delivered the same message in a phone call to U.S. President Joe Biden. Washington has provided extensive military and diplomatic support to Israel since the start of the war.
In Gaza鈥檚 city of Khan Younis, Palestinians welcomed the respite of the upcoming cease-fire but said four days would do little to relieve the humanitarian disaster caused by the war.
鈥淕od willing, it becomes a total cease-fire,鈥 said Jihan Qanan. 鈥淧eople have had houses brought down on their heads, they鈥檝e been expelled ... There鈥檚 no homes, no money, no possessions. The whole world is wrecked.鈥
SURROUNDING JABALIYA
The Israeli military said combat operations would continue until it was ordered to hold fire, and chief spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said troops would remain in place during the truce. Israeli forces hold much of northern Gaza, where they say they have dismantled tunnels and much of Hamas鈥 infrastructure there.
The military said it has surrounded the Jabaliya refugee camp and called on any residents inside to evacuate Thursday. The military has said it is pursuing Hamas fighters in Jabaliya, a dense urban district adjacent to Gaza City that has been heavily bombarded for weeks.
The military said Thursday it detained the director of , Mohammed Abu Selmia, for questioning over his involvement in what it called 鈥渆xtensive鈥 Hamas activities in the hospital. Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry condemned Abu Selmia鈥檚 arrest and called on international bodies to intervene.
A day earlier, Israel showed a tunnel and rooms that military officials said were beneath Shifa. Hamas and hospital staff deny Israeli allegations that Shifa was used as a militant command center. Hagari said Israel has mapped out Shifa Hospital and plans to destroy all 鈥渢error infrastructure" it has found.
Ahmed El-Mokhallalati, a plastic surgeon working at Shifa, said 150 patients are still there, with only two doctors, a nurse and three volunteer workers to care for them. 鈥淢y colleagues and I are unable to continue providing treatment to patients," El-Mokhallalati said on X.
Israel has threatened to extend its invasion to southern Gaza, where most of the territory鈥檚 population is now located. More than 1 million people, including hundreds of thousands who fled the north, have crammed into overflowing U.N.-run shelters with .
For Hamas, the cease-fire would provide an opportunity to regroup after weeks of apparently heavy losses. , who is believed to be alive and in hiding in Gaza, is likely to claim the release of Palestinian prisoners as a major achievement and declare victory if the war ends.
HOSTAGES TO BE FREED IN STAGES
Under the truce deal, 50 hostages are supposed to be freed in stages, in exchange for the release of what Hamas said would be . Women and children would be released first, and Israel said the truce would be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed.
The return of hostages could lift spirits in Israel, where their plight has gripped the country. Families of the hostages to pressure the government to bring them home. Netanyahu鈥檚 office said it notified the families of hostages listed for release Friday.
Hamas said 200 trucks a day will enter Gaza carrying aid. Qatar said the aid will include fuel, but has given no details on quantities.
Israel cut off all imports at the start of the war, except for a trickle of food, water and medical supplies allowed in from Egypt. The lack of fuel has caused a territory-wide blackout, leaving homes and hospitals reliant on faltering generators.
Israel鈥檚 Justice Ministry published a list of 300 prisoners eligible to be released, mainly teenagers detained over the past year for rock-throwing and other minor offenses.
The war erupted when several thousand Hamas militants , killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking scores of hostages, including babies, women and older adults, as well as soldiers, for whom Hamas is expected to demand a large number of high-profile prisoners.
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Jobain reported from Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, and Jeffery from Cairo. Associated Press reporters Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
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