On November 23, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari announced that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will begin at 7:00 a.m. on November 24. The first hostages will then be released at around 4:00 p.m. the same day.
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| Photo of hostages being held in Ramat Gan, Israel, November 22. (Source: Associated Press) |
On November 23, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari announced that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will begin at 7:00 a.m. on November 24, after which the first hostages will be released at around 4:00 p.m. the same day.
Speaking to reporters in Doha, Mr. Al-Ansari said that a list of 50 civilians to be released from Gaza has been agreed upon, with 13 expected to be released immediately after the ceasefire. There are currently about 236 hostages believed to be still being held in Gaza, including about 10 American citizens.
On the same day, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced that it had received an initial list of hostages set to be released by Hamas after the ceasefire took effect. The statement from the Prime Minister's Office stated: "The relevant authorities are examining the list in detail and are currently in contact with all the families of the hostages."
Earlier, the armed wing of the Hamas Islamist movement, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed that the four-day ceasefire agreement with Israel would take effect at 7 a.m. on November 24.
In a related development, speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv with members of the War Cabinet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that regardless of whether a ceasefire is reached or not, he has ordered the country's Mossad intelligence agency to attack Hamas leaders "anywhere."
The statement was made after a reporter quoted a source from Israel's Kan TV channel as saying that Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal were very satisfied with the war with Israel and planned to continue managing Gaza after the war ended.
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