Hamas on Friday released 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and a Filipino national, taking the total number of hostages released to 24, according to the Qatari foreign ministry. Under the terms of the Israeli-Hamas truce deal, Israel in turn freed 39 Palestinian women and children from jails, Qatar confirmed. Read FRANCE 24’s live coverage of the complex, much-awaited swap, which comes after nearly seven weeks of intense fighting in the Gaza Strip, to see how all the day's events unfolded.
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Gaza’s health ministry collects data from enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
Key Developments from Thursday, November 23:
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A four-day Israel-Hamas truce will begin on Friday morning, mediator Qatar announced on Thursday. Hamas and the Israeli prime minister's office confirmed the news shortly after the Qatari announcement.
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The Israeli military on Thursday confirmed that the director of Gaza City's Al Shifa Hospital had been held for questioning over allegations that the facility was used as a Hamas command centre.
Read yesterday's blog here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
