Israel Agrees to Hostage Deal with Hamas: Live Updates

First of all Freeing Hamas hostages Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari said the release of 13 women and children was scheduled for Friday afternoon local time in Gaza.

Al-Ansari was unable to provide details on the identity of the hostages, nor the route they might take for security reasons. However, many of the first 50 hostages are expected to get out via Egypt.

Their families and those of the hostages have been notified that they will not be released, the Israeli government said. Al-Ansari also said that hostages belonging to the same family would be released together in the first group.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official tells CNN that a total of 39 Palestinian prisoners will be released on Friday as part of the deal.

The prisoners will be taken from Daman and Megiddo, two prisons southeast of Haifa, and will be taken to Ofer prison, south of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, for final checks by the Red Cross.

The released prisoners are expected to include both girls and boys up to the age of 18.

The timing of the release was unclear, but the Israeli official said the prisoners would not be released until the hostages from Gaza were back in Israeli hands.

Two more months of fighting: Israel’s defense minister says he expects the military operation against Hamas to continue “vigorously” after the brief ceasefire. For at least two months.

Names of Palestinian prisoners missing: A Palestinian official told CNN No name list yet They are expected to be released from Israeli jails on Friday.

3-year-old American released in Biden trust: US President Joe Biden said he had his “fingers crossed” that a three-year-old American girl was being held hostage by Hamas. He will be released on Friday. But he said he would not provide further updates until the deal is complete.

The United States will contact the families of American hostages: America will Contact family members of American hostages Those released from Gaza “after we confirmed that they were leaving Gaza,” a US official said.

Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel: Lebanese Militia Hezbollah fired 48 rockets Earlier on Thursday at the headquarters of the Israeli infantry division at the Ein Zeitim military base. In a statement, Hezbollah said it fired a guided missile at Israeli Merkava tanks located near al-Raheb, near the Israeli town of Shtula, and targeted Israeli infantry forces in the area.

Israel Defense Forces said it had “intercepted several missiles” and later confirmed that it had used helicopters and warplanes to attack Hezbollah infrastructure and rocket launch sites in Lebanon in response to the militant group’s attacks.