By Ken Afor
No reports of bombings, artillery fire or rocket assaults occurred as Israel and Hamas began a four-day truce in Gaza on Friday, the first break in a 48-day battle that has catastrophically damaged the Palestinian domain.
At 7 a.m., a complete ceasefire was declared between the north and south parts of Gaza, and 13 Israeli women and children captives held by militants were to be liberated later on during the day.
In addition, assistance was to be provided to the besieged Gaza region. In return for these actions, a range of Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli prisons were promised to be released.
According to Reuters, no noise from the Israeli Air Force above, while no trace of the vapor trails, usually left by Palestinian rocket launches, was seen.
Since the start of the ceasefire, there have been no reports of shelling coming from Gaza according to Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen TV.
The alarming sound of sirens blared in two Israeli villages located next to the Gaza Strip in the south, indicating potential Palestinian rocket attacks. Nonetheless, there was no proof of any firings when it was heard.
In the lead-up to the truce, combat had occurred persistently, and those within the Palestinian-controlled region of Gaza claimed a hospital in Gaza City was hit with bombing. Besides, both parties made it known that the ceasefire would not be permanent; hostilities will resume shortly.
Mounir El Barsh, Gaza health ministry director, reported to Al-Jazeera that a patient, a wounded woman, had died and three others were injured, due to relentless bombing of the Indonesian hospital, which was running without any light and overflowing with immobile elderly people and ailing children.
At 4:00pm, Al-Ansari said in Doha that more aid would begin to be sent to Gaza, and the first captives, including elderly women, would gain their freedom. The number of rescued captives would reach 50 within the course of four days, according to the Qatar Foreign Ministry Spokesperson.
The Shehab news agency affiliated to Hamas reported that fuel trucks were entering the Rafah crossing after the beginning of the truce. Egypt has revealed that 130,000 litres of diesel and four trucks of gas will be sent to Gaza daily when the armistice comes into effect, in addition to 200 trucks of aid.
Qatari spokesperson informed the press that Palestinians were planned to be freed from Israeli prisons. “We all hope that this truce will lead to a chance to start a wider work to achieve a permanent truce.”
Hamas declared on their Telegram platform that their forces had finished all acts of combat.
In a video message, Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas armed wing, referred to a temporary truce while also advocating an escalation of the confrontation against Israel across all resistance fronts – including the Israeli-occupied West Bank which has seen an increase in violence since the Gaza war began almost seven weeks ago.
Israel’s armed forces indicated that military personnel will remain within the confines of a ceasefire line inside Gaza, again, without divulging further information on the exact position.
“These will be complicated days and nothing is certain,” Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.
“Control over northern Gaza is the first step of a long war, and we are preparing for the next stages,” he added. Israel had received an initial list of hostages to be freed and was in touch with families, the prime minister’s office said.
In an Arabic-language social media post, an Israeli military spokesperson warned Palestinians: “The war is not over yet. The humanitarian pause is temporary. The northern Gaza Strip is a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move north. For your safety, you must remain in the humanitarian zone in the south.”
Following an incursion from Palestinian militants of Hamas on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people lost their lives and around 240 hostages were taken, Israel initiated its savage invasion of Gaza, according to Israelis’ counts.
Since then, according to Palestinian health authorities, Israel has bombarded the small enclave, resulting in the deaths of around 14,000 Gazans, with approximately 40% of them being children.
“People are exhausted and are losing hope in humanity,” U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on Thursday after a visit to Gaza, referring to “unspeakable suffering” in the enclave.
“They need respite, they deserve to sleep without being anxious about whether they will make it through the night. This is the bare minimum anyone should be able to have.”
On Thursday, warring sides intensified their attacks as the ceasefire loomed. Israeli jets reportedly targeted more than 300 sites while troops battled near the Jabalia refugee camp close to Gaza City.
An army spokesperson declared that operations would carry on until troops are ordered to suspend them.
Global attention has been brought to bear upon the status of hospitals in Gaza, in particular those in the northern region which have stopped functioning, leaving the patients, medical personnel, and those who have been displaced therein, effectively trapped.
Israel is claiming that Hamas militants are utilizing residential complexes and other civil infrastructures, such as hospitals, to carry out their activities, however, this allegation is being denied by Hamas.
