Doha, 24 Nov 2023

12 Thai workers caught in Gaza conflict were handed over by Hamas a while before to the Red Crescent at the Rafa Crossing, Egypt followed by 13 Israeli children and women. First group of 39 Palestinians including 13 children are expected to be released by occupied forces of Israel in coming hours.

Week’s long Qatar’s mediation role between Hamas and Israel in cooperation with US and Egypt bringing both parties to agree to a temporary truce that would pause fighting for four days and make way for humanitarian aid to reach to Gaza hospitals and people and an exchange of captives and prisoners.

On Oct. 7, Hamas captured 239 Israelis, including high-ranking military personnel, intending to exchange them for over 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Since then, the Israeli military has waged a devastating war on Gaza, resulting in over 14,128 Palestinian fatalities, including 5,840 children and 3,920 women, and over 33,000 injuries, 75% of which are children and women, according to the Gaza government’s media office.

Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari underscored that the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip would start on Friday morning at 7:00 am Gaza Strip local time.

In a press conference held Thursday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to announce the details of the pause, Dr. Al Ansari said that the communications between Hamas, Israel, and the mediators have concluded, and lists of the names of those who will be released have been handed over. He indicated that the first batch of civilian hostages would be handed over at around 4:00 pm on Friday.

He revealed that around 50 Israeli hostages would be released over four days. The first batch will include 13 persons, including women and children.

The Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that extensive communications took place within the framework of reaching the form of the executive plan to implement that agreement to ensure the safe return of the hostages to their final destinations.

During the press conference, Dr. Al Ansari said that during the four days, data would be collected regarding the remaining hostages, the possibility of releasing more hostages would be considered, and work on extending the pause.

He expressed the State of Qatar’s hope that this pause would contribute to finding a chance to initiate more work within the framework of achieving a permanent truce and peace.

He pointed out that the Red Cross and Palestine Red Crescent Society would be essential parts of the hostage release process. He stressed that once the humanitarian pause entered into force, the aid would start flowing through the Rafah crossing in coordination with the Egyptian side.

Since October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, Gaza has been devastated by bombardments of air and ground attacks that have left more than 14,000 Palestinians dead, mostly women and children.

On Wednesday, Israel’s government agreed to a pause in fighting that could begin as soon as Friday.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the truce is temporary and that the war will continue after it ends. However, there are numerous examples in the past century of truces that have been instrumental in ending wars – as well as many that didn’t.