The Israeli military said on Saturday that the Palestinian militant group Hamas had released 13 Israelis and four foreign nationals in the second round of swaps under a cease-fire deal. The news comes after Egypt said that it had received positive signals from all parties over a possible extension of the Gaza truce for one or two days. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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So far today:
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The Israeli military said on Saturday that the Palestinian militant group Hamas had released 13 Israelis and four foreign nationals in the second round of swaps under a cease-fire deal.
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Egypt said on Saturday that it had received positive signals from all parties over a possible extension of the Gaza truce for one or two days.
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A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, a US defence official said on Saturday. The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew.
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The Palestine Red Crescent said on Saturday that it had received 196 trucks loaded with aid through Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt on Friday.
Key developments on Friday, November 24
- Hamas on Friday released 13 Israelis from captivity in Gaza under the terms of a four-day ceasefire deal with Israel. An additional 10 Thai workers and a Filipino national captured in the October 7 Hamas attack were also released following negotiations brokered by Egypt.
- Israel in turn freed 39 Palestinian women and children from its prisons.
- The truce came into effect Friday at 7am local time (0500 GMT), with the temporary cessation of hostilities covering northern and southern Gaza.
- Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, said the group is committed to the truce deal, which involves the release of 50 hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli jails over the four-day period.
- For more, read yesterday's blog here.
Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the enclave, receives data from every hospital in the strip. Hospital administrators say they keep records of every wounded person occupying a bed and every body arriving at a morgue. The ministry also collects from other sources including 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)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
