Israel-Hamas truce takes effect

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — A four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war took effect on Friday, with hostages set to be released in exchange for prisoners in the first major reprieve in seven weeks of war that have claimed thousands of lives.

Starting from 7:00 am (0500 GMT), the pause was set to silence guns and stop bombings in a conflict that erupted after Hamas's murderous raids into Israel on October 7.

Later on Friday, 13 hostages held in Gaza are expected to be freed, followed by an undefined number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, according to Qatari mediators.

Over the four days, at least 50 hostages are expected to be released, leaving an estimated 190 in the hands of Palestinian militant groups. 

Meanwhile, 150 Palestinians prisoners are expected to be released.

For Gaza's two million-plus residents, the deal spells a respite from weeks of sustained Israeli bombardment.

The territory's Hamas government says the war has so far killed about 15,000 people and displaced countless more.

The exact number of casualties is impossible to independently confirm, but it is clear that for many Palestinian and Israeli families, the pause in violence has already come too late.

"The living here are the ones who are dead," Fida Zayed, a Gazan whose 20-year-old son Udai was killed in a recent air strike, told AFP.

"The last thing he said to me was that he was waiting for the truce on Friday," she told AFP. "He asked me to prepare him a feast of rice and chicken."

"I hope me and my children die here so we don't have to mourn each other."

Qatari officials said the "first batch" of 13 hostages released would be women and children from the same families.

Teams of Israeli trauma experts and medics await them -- along with specially trained soldiers who, according to guidelines, will promise to keep them safe and will carry a child's favourite food item, be it pizza or chicken schnitzel.

An Egyptian security source told AFP that Israeli security officials, International Red Cross-Red Crescent staff and an Egyptian team would deploy to Rafah, on the Egypt-Gaza border, to receive the hostages, who will then be flown to Israel.

AFP has confirmed the identities of 210 of