People wait near empty gas canisters to be filled with cooking gas from a tank that entered the Palestinian enclave on November 25, 2023. (Photo by Said Khatib / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: Thirty nine Palestinians and 13 Israelis were welcomed home after the four-day humanitarian pause in Gaza began on Friday, November 24, 2023. Palestinians in Gaza enjoyed a night free from bombardment though uncertainity remains at what follows the truce. As the day two of truce begins, watch this page for more live updates.
[12:24am Doha Time] Arrival of Red Cross vehicles transporting released Israeli and foreign detainees to the Rafah crossing.
[12:24am Doha Time] Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari issues field update, says 13 Israeli citizens and 4 foreigners were handed over to the Red Cross and are on their way to the Rafah border.
[10:07pm Doha Time] Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari stated that those who will be released from Israeli prisons include 33 children and 6 women, while those released from Gaza included 8 children and 5 women, in addition to 7 foreigners.
[9:49pm Doha Time] Prisoner release to go as scheduled
Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari said that, following a delay in implementing the release of prisoners from both sides, that obstacles were overcome through Qatari-Egyptian contacts with both sides, and tonight 39 Palestinian civilians will be released in exchange for the release of 13 Israeli detainees from Gaza, in addition to 7 foreigners.
[7:34pm Doha Time] Hamas says will delay release of second round of captives
Hamas’s armed wing says it will delay the release of the second batch of captives, accusing Israel of not abiding by the terms of the truce deal.
In a statement on the messaging app Telegram, the Qassam Brigades said Israel should allow aid trucks to enter the northern Gaza Strip and to adhere to the “criteria” that was agreed upon – namely seniority – to release the Palestinian prisoners.
[5:50pm Doha Time]
Palestinian Red Crescent volunteres and UN staff help carry a wounded Palesinian man reportedly shot by Israeli forces while leaving Gaza City through the Zeitoun district on its southern entrance on onto a stretcher before transporting him to a hospital by ambulance on November 25, 2023, the second day of a truce between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)
[3:55pm Doha Time] PRCS delivers ‘largest’ batch of aid assistance to northern Gaza since war began
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on social media that it had delivered a convoy of 61 trucks carrying aid assistance to “Gaza [City] and the North governates,” calling it the largest such delivery since the war began on October 7.
The Gaza Strip is divided into five governorates: North Gaza, Gaza City, Deir el-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah.
The trucks were “loaded with food and non-food items, water, primary health care medicines, and emergency medical supplies,” the PRCS said on X.
[2:30pm Doha Time] Humanitarian situation in Gaza very ‘difficult’
Aed Yaghi, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, says the four-day truce in the Gaza Strip is not enough to deal with the many challenges facing the people living in the enclave.
“The situation is too difficult. We are speaking about 1.6 million Palestinians in the south. The shelters are too crowded. It is not enough for even 10 percent of these people,” he told Al Jazeera from Khan Younis. Read more here
[1pm Doha Time] Egypt gets list of 14 hostages to be released by Hamas: Security sources
Security sources told Reuters news agency that Egypt has received a list from Palestinian group Hamas of 14 hostages to be released on Saturday.
Earlier, Israel also said it had received a list of hostages to be freed from Gaza on Saturday by Hamas.
[12:05pm Doha Time] Aid, fuel continue to flow in Gaza on second day of humanitarian pause
The humanitarian pause allows for a larger flow of trucks loaded with relief supplies and fuel continuing through the Rafah border crossing. Read more here
Men carry empty gas canisters to be filled with cooking gas from a tank that entered the Palestinian enclave on November 25, 2023. (Photo by Said Khatib / AFP)
[11:50am Doha Time] Israel to release 14 hostages, 42 prisoners under truce deal
Israeli authorities said that 14 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip would be released on Saturday, as well as 42 Palestinian prisoners, on the second day of a truce deal.
[9:45am Doha Time] UN distributes humanitarian aid in northern Gaza for first time
A number of humanitarian aid and trucks have been delivered to the northern Gaza Strip [by the United Nations] in order to be distributed for people trapped in the north of the territory.
This is the first time that humanitarian aid could be delivered to the north of the Gaza Strip as the Israeli occupation did not allow for the UN or for any other international organisations to distribute humanitarian aid to this area which is considered to be a battle zone for the Israeli forces.
These people have been running low in food and water and even hospitals in northern Gaza did not receive any medical aid throughout the weeks of fighting. The UN is distributing this aid for people taking shelter inside its school and they’re trying to guarantee that all people in the north will have access to humanitarian aid.
The amount that entered and is expected to enter is still partially limited with the needs of the Gaza Strip.
[7:30am Doha Time] Day two to see 13 more Israeli captives released from Gaza
Day two of the truce in Gaza will see the same number of Israeli captives, which is 13, to be released at 4pm local time.
Al Jazeera reported this adding that the Israeli prime minister’s office has confirmed that they received the list of names of those expected to be released from the Gaza Strip, and they have notified those families. Read more here
[6:30am Doha Time] WHO voices concern over fate of Gaza hospital chief
The World Health Organization voiced concern on Friday about the fate of the head of Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital, whom Israeli forces detained over the facility's alleged use by Hamas.
The WHO said in a statement that the chief of the biggest hospital in the besieged Palestinian territory had been arrested on Wednesday along with five other health workers, while they were taking part in a UN mission to evacuate patients. Read more here
