First Israeli hostages set to be freed TODAY as four-day ceasefire begins after nearly 50 days of fighting

THE first Israeli hostages are set to be freed today as a four-day truce period between Israel and Hamas begins after nearly 50 days of fighting. The ceasefire kicked off at 7am local time – with the first group of 13 women and children due to be released at 4pm. APA four-day ceasefire has been agreed in the Israel-Hamas war[/caption] There has been no official statement from either side as to whether there has been a pause in the fighting – and sirens were heard just minutes into the truce period. But Hamas have vowed to free at least 50 of the 240 hostages that were snatched on October 7 in return for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Both sides will release women and children first and Israel confirmed it has the names of the hostages set to be freed. Israel said the truce would be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed. The truce-for-hostages deal was reached after weeks of intense negotiations – with Qatar, the United States and Egypt serving as mediators. If it holds, it would mark the first significant break in fighting since Israel declared war on Hamas seven weeks ago. The agreement has raised hopes of eventually winding down the war, which has levelled vast swaths of Gaza and stirred fears of an all-out war across the Middle East. The first group of 13 women and children held by Hamas will be freed on Friday afternoon, according to Majed al-Ansari, the spokesman of the Qatari foreign ministry. Three Palestinian prisoners – also women and children – are set to be released for every freed hostage. Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list of 300 prisoners eligible to be released – including mainly teenagers detained over the past year for rock-throwing and other minor offences. The agreement to release 50 Israeli hostages had previously been delayed over “last minute” details between Israel and Hamas. Palestinian civilians have been left fleeing for their lives as Israel attempts to destroy Hamas after the terror group massacred 1,200 civilians on October 7. Families living in Gaza have been caught in the brutal crossfire, with regular accusations that the terrorists are attempting to use them as “human shields”. Much of the northern part of the strip has been turned into a devastated warzone – with ruined buildings, dwindling supplies and horrific suffering for Gaza’s people. The Red Cross estimates that some 1.5million civilians have been forced to flee south amid the Israeli onslaught from land, air and sea. Figures for the death toll remain unverified – but Hamas’ health officials claim more than 11,000 civilians, including more than 4,500 children have been killed. Israel disputes these figures – and US President Joe Biden said he had “no confidence” in them. But Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israel has “not been successful” in reducing civilian casualties. But he said the deaths must be blamed on Hamas – not Israel. The Sun is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Download our fantastic, new and improved free App for the best ever Sun Online experience. For iPhone click here, for Android click here.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.