Gaza Temporary Ceasefire Delayed Until Friday

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Facts

  • The four-day cease-fire that will see Israel and Hamas exchange 50 hostages held in Gaza for 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails alongside an increase in humanitarian aid into the besieged strip has been delayed until Friday, according to Qatar's Foreign Ministry.1
  • A spokesman for the ministry detailed on Thursday that the truce will go into effect at 7 a.m., both north and south of the enclave, with 13 hostages — all of them women and children — being handed to the Red Cross at about 4 p.m. The exact number of Palestinian prisoners to be freed on Friday remains unclear.2
  • Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed the detainment of Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of al-Shifa Hospital, reportedly for questioning over alleged evidence that Hamas used the facility as a command and control center.3
  • Gaza's health ministry reports that over 14K people in the Gaza Strip have been killed, over two-thirds of which were women and children, and 33K wounded. The official Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at 1.2K people.4
  • Elsewhere Reuters — citing three anonymous sources and Hezbollah — reported that an Israeli air strike killed five members of Hezbollah on Wednesday evening in the southern Lebanon village of Beit Yahoun, including Abbas Raad, the son of senior Hezbollah figure and member of parliament Mohammad Raad, bringing the total of Hezbollah fighters killed since Oct. 7 to 85.5
  • On Thursday, Lebanon-based Hezbollah said it fired 48 rockets into northern Israel, the largest barrage on the Israeli northern border since the start of the war. A number of rockets were intercepted by Israeli air defense, and no casualties were reported in Israel.6

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2BBC News, 3The telegraph, 4Haaretz.com, 5Reuters and 6The times of israel.

Narratives

  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem post. While freeing hostages is of the utmost importance, Israel must not succumb to unfair international pressure. Hamas has a history of forcing uneven deals, and the Israeli war cabinet made the right decision by weighing its options before accepting this temporary pause. It should remain clear, however, that Israel's ultimate goal is to eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem will continue to work toward this end.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle east eye. Though the Israel Defense Forces are making steady progress on the ground, a tactical assault on Hamas to free the captives could lead to the deaths of many more. Israel has made a wise choice to bring its citizens home immediately through this temporary ceasefire. This will also see much-needed aid reach Gaza, where an utter humanitarian cataclysm is unfolding.

Predictions