Gaza ceasefire to start Friday morning, 13 hostages to be freed

Qatar affirmed that the hostage deal would go into effect on Friday, with a pause to the Gaza war starting at 7 am and the release of 13 captives on Friday out of a group of 50 to be freed within four days.

The names of those 13 captives have been handed to the Mossad, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari told reporters in Doha on Thursday afternoon.

Family members who have been held captive together will be released together, he stated.

Israel has expected the deal to go into effect on Thursday, but the deal hit a temporary snag and was delayed by a day.

Keeping communication channels open

Ansari dismissed the significance of the delay, explaining that both Israel and Hamas were committed to the execution of the deal.

“The important thing is that we [Qatar] will maintain a clear line of communication” and will guarantee the release of the hostages, he said.

“Our team has been working on this day and night,” he said, explaining that “every moment that goes by” creates a danger that a life could be lost.

All those who will be released are alive, he stated.

Ansari said that the International Committee of the Red Cross representatives would be involved in the the release of the captives but he did not provide details as to how they would do that or how Hamas would hand over the hostages to Israel.

He explained that the deal would also allow for a larger flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Rafah crossing at the Egyptian border. It is, however, only a fraction of what is needed, he stressed.