Israel-Hamas agree on short truce to free hostages in swap

Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire in Gaza for at least four days, to let in aid and free at least 50 hostages held by militants in the Palestinian enclave in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel.

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The cease-fire is to take effect at 10am local time on Thursday, according to Egypt's state-run Qahera TV channel.

The first truce in a brutal, near seven-week-old war, reached after mediation by Qatar, was hailed around the world as a sign of progress that could ease the suffering of civilians in Israeli-besieged Gaza and bring more Israeli captives home.

Israel said the ceasefire could be extended further if more hostages were freed, and a Palestinian source said as many as 100 hostages in total could be released by the end of the month.

Hamas and allied groups captured around 240 hostages when Islamist gunmen rampaged through southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7. Previously, Hamas had released just four.

The truce was not expected to begin until Thursday morning, and the start time had yet to be officially announced as of Wednesday afternoon.