Israel, Hamas agree to temporary ceasefire deal where hostages, prisoners will be exchanged

The latest:

• Israel says 50 women and children to be released by Hamas.
• Hamas says 150 women and children to be released from Israeli jails.
• Exchanges could start on Thursday.
• Further aid expected to flow into Gaza after exchanges begin.
• Israeli PM vows to continue fighting Hamas after ceasefire expires.

Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for at least four days, to let in aid and release at least 50 hostages captured by militants in exchange for at least 150 Palestinian women and childrenheld in prisonsin Israel.

A statement byIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Tuesday night saidHamas hostages will be released over four days, at a rate of at least 10 daily. The nation saidthe ceasefire could be extended further if more hostages were freed.

The timing of the truce had not yet been announced as of late Wednesday, but was not expected to begin until at least Thursday.

WATCH | Israel committed to taking down Hamas after hostages released:

Israeli admiral reinforces commitment to 'take Hamas down'

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Standing amid a display of heavy-duty weapons purportedly found at Al-Shifa Hospital, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari reiterates Israel's commitment to taking Hamas down after hostages are released.

Netanyahu said the Red Cross will be allowed to visit remaining hostages in Gaza.

Hundreds of trucks of humanitarian, medical and fuel supplies would enter Gaza, whileIsraelwould halt all air sorties over southern Gaza and maintain a daily six-hour daytime no-fly window in the north, the enclave's ruling Islamists said.

The first truce in a 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 inIsraeli-besieged Gaza and bring moreIsraeli captives home though both Israel and Hamas said the overarching war is not over.

Just 4 hostages released previously

Hamasand allied groups killed 1,200 people and captured around 240 hostages asgunmenrampaged through southernIsraeli towns on Oct. 7. Previously,Hamashad released just four of those captives.

In response, Israel has placed Gaza under complete siege and relentless bombardment.

Qatar's chief negotiator in ceasefire talks, Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, told Reuters the truce meant there would be "no attack whatsoever. No military movements, no expansion, nothing."

WATCH l Anger, persistence in Israel from families of hostages:

Families spent 45 days fighting for release of Israeli hostages

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A timeline of the 45 days Israelis spent pushing, lobbying their government to make sure the hostages were released.

Qatar hopes the deal "will be a seed to a bigger agreement and a permanent cease of fire. And that's our intention," he said.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan told a media briefing in London that the agreement, which includes hostage releases and stepped-up aid into the devastated Gaza Strip, should also ultimately lead to a resumption of talks for a two-state solution.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement as "an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done to end the suffering."

But Netanyahu said Israelwould resume its offensive against Hamas after the deal expires.

"We are at war, and we will continue the war," he said. "We will continue until we achieve all our goals."

• What questions do you have aboutthe war between Israel and Hamas? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca.

For its part, Hamas said in a statement that, "our fingers remain on the trigger, and our victorious fighters will remain on the look-out to defend our people and defeat the occupation."

WATCH |How an Israeli hostage survived 17 days in Hamas tunnels:

How an Israeli hostage survived 17 days in Hamas tunnels

11 months ago

Duration 8:00

Hamas has released two Israeli women held hostage in Gaza. Andrew Chang recounts the story of Yocheved Lifshitz, 85. How did she survive, and why was she released?

To date, Hamas has only released U.S. citizens Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter, Natalie Raanan, 17, on Oct. 20, citing "humanitarian reasons," and Israeli women Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, on Oct. 23.

The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, which participated in the Oct. 7 raid, said Tuesday that one of the Israeli hostages it has held has since died.

No letup in fighting

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said more than 14,500 Gazans have been killed since Israeli's response to the Oct. 7 attacks, figures deemed reliable by the United Nations.

"What truce can there be after what happened to us? We are all dead people," said Mona, a woman in Gaza whose nieces and nephews were among those killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit the home of the Seyam family. "This will not bring back what we lost, will not heal our hearts or make up for the tears we shed."

Residents in Gaza City said the fighting there had intensified overnight into Wednesday, with gunfire, heavy artillery and airstrikes in central neighbourhoods.

"They are mad. Apparently they want to advance before the truce," said Nasser al-Sheikh, who is sheltering with relatives in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis on Wednesday met separately with Israeli relatives of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians with family in Gaza. Speaking in unscripted remarks at his general audience in St. Peter's Square shortly after the meetings in his residence, Francis said he heard directly how "both sides are suffering" in the conflict.

WATCH | Why it took 45 days to reach a deal:

Breaking down the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal

10 months ago

Duration 7:16

CBCs Paul Hunter breaks down the deal between Israel and Hamas for a four-day ceasefire and the release of 50 hostages. And global affairs expert Janice Stein explains why it took 45 days to reach, as well as the wider impact.

"This is what wars do. But here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism," he said.