Rafah (Gaza Strip), Nov 24: Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza for weeks, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison in the first stage of a swap under a four-day cease-fire deal.
The freed hostages included 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and one from the Philippines, according to Qatar.
With the truce’s starting on Friday morning, Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians saw quiet for the first time after seven weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment. (AP)
qEarlier report on P-9
