The truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has come into force and is expected to lead to the release of 13 Israeli hostages this afternoon; The ceasefire is expected to last 4 days. In the afternoon they were freed 13 Israeli hostages, mostly women and children. Subsequently, around thirty Palestinian women and minors detained in Israel will also be released. The temporary suspension of hostilities should also concern Israel’s northern border, after repeated firefights between the army and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
A rocket fired from Gaza after the start of the ceasefire was intercepted by an Iron Dome air defense battery near the Israeli border kibbutzim of Kissufim and Ein Ha-Shlosha. Alarm sirens had previously sounded in that area. Military radio reported it. No damage or casualties were reported.
The Israeli army blew up a long tunnel dug under the Shifa hospital in Gaza this morning, before the start of the truce. Military radio reported it. According to an army spokesperson, Hamas had set up “a nerve center for carrying out terrorist activities” under the hospital. Yesterday the Israeli military arrested the director of Shifa hospital, Mohammad Abu Salmiya.
The Israeli army has warned the masses of displaced Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip to refrain from trying to return to the northern area, despite the start of a several-day ceasefire. ”The war is not over yet – military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in Arabic – the humanitarian pause is temporary. The northern area remains a war area. It’s very dangerous, don’t go north. However, transit from north to south on the Sallah a-Din artery remains permitted. Traveling north is prohibited and dangerous.”