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GAZA – Today (Friday) marks the commencement of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas, representing the first pause in Israel’s extensive bombardment of the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel.
The temporary cessation follows weeks of negotiations involving Israel, Hamas, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. During this four-day break, 150 Palestinian prisoners and 50 Israeli hostages are set to be released.
Read more :Â Australia Grants Visas To Palestinians After Temporary Ceasefire
This period offers an opportunity for aid to reach the war-torn enclave, where nearly 15,000 people, including over 6,000 children, have lost their lives in Israeli bombings.
Relief supplies continued to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt on Friday, with hopes that the agreement between Israel and Hamas will bring respite to the people of Gaza and Israel. The UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) spokesperson, Jens Laerke, expressed the desire that the pause is respected and leads to reaching those in need. The goal is for the temporary truce to evolve into a long-term humanitarian ceasefire.
In Gaza, over 1.7 million people are estimated to be internally displaced, with approximately one million staying in more than 150 UNRWA shelters across the Strip. The October 7 raids by Hamas and other Palestinian gunmen resulted in around 240 hostages taken during unprecedented attacks on southern Israel, leading to 1,200 casualties, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities. This attack prompted a relentless Israeli campaign of bombing and a ground offensive in Hamas-run Gaza.
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