Qatar’s foreign ministry has said that a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas would take effect on Friday, after the long-awaited agreement was delayed by a day.
The ceasefire, which Hamas said would also cover other Palestinian militant groups, will begin at 7am local time on Friday, and the first tranche of hostages, made up of 13 women and children, will be released at 4pm local time, the foreign ministry in Doha said.
The Israeli prime minister’s office confirmed that it had received “an initial list of names” of those to be released, and that officials were checking the details and in contact with the hostages’ families.