Israel Hamas War: A four-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war came into effect early Friday. According to CNN report, under the agreement both sides will exchange hostages and prisoners. After the ceasefire, on Friday, 8 tankers filled with fuel and cooking gas reached Gaza Strip from Egypt. These tankers were given entry into Gaza through the Rafah crossing between Israel and Egypt.
The ceasefire began at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and will last for at least four days, the AP reported. During this period, Gaza’s ruling Hamas group has promised to free at least 50 of the approximately 240 hostages taken on October 7. Hamas said that Israel would free 150 Palestinian prisoners.
Tankers reached Gaza shortly after implementation
Israel said that shortly after the ceasefire took effect, four fuel tankers and four tankers carrying cooking gas entered the Gaza Strip. Israel has agreed to allow the delivery of 130,000 liters (34,342 gallons) of fuel per day during the ceasefire, almost double what was previously allowed, but this is still only a quarter of Gaza’s estimated daily needs of more than 1 million litres. It is a small part.
Israel had banned the entry of fuel
It is noteworthy that for most of the last seven weeks of the war, Israel had banned the entry of any fuel into Gaza, claiming that it was being used by Hamas for military purposes. UN aid agencies refuted such claims, saying that the fuel distribution was closely monitored and was urgently needed to prevent a humanitarian disaster.
According to the AP report, a Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the first 50 hostages to be released under the agreement are Israeli citizens. America and Qatar have mediated talks regarding a four-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.