Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 02:32pm on 24 Nov 2023,Friday International
Israel will free 39 Palestinian prisoners, including 24 women and 15 teenage boys, in exchange for 13 hostages held in Gaza by Hamas under the temporary truce today. The swap is scheduled to occur around 4pm local time with prisoners handed to the Red Cross and hostages transferred at the Gaza-Egypt border. The hostages were among over 200 kidnapped in Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel. Israel's military completed preparations to receive the freed civilians, providing medical care and counseling on their journey home. The temporary truce has also allowed aid to start to flow into the besieged enclaves of Gaza, devasted by Israeli bombing and ground assault. Israeli tanks have moved away from the northern end of Gaza while there was an absence of hostile activity in the air from warplanes or rockets. The four-day ceasefire involves the staged release of 50 women and children hostages held by Hamas, in return for 150 Palestinian women and teenagers held in Israeli jails. Israel says the truce could be extended beyond the initial four days if Hamas continues to release hostages at a rate of at least 10 per day.
