Hamas Claims Truce to Start 10 a.m. Thursday

The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas claims that a four-day pause in fighting in Gaza will begin at 10:00 a.m. local time on Thursday (3 a.m. EST), as the first hostages will be delivered to Israel, and some Palestinian prisoners are released by Israel.

The Times of Israel reported Wednesday:

Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk says in an interview with Al Jazeera that the temporary truce between the terror group and Israel will enter into force tomorrow at 10 a.m.

The announcement comes after Israel has reached an agreement with Hamas for a four-day halt in fighting and the release of at least 50 of the approximately 240 hostages Hamas abducted on October 7, in exchange for the release of 150 underage and female Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons.

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Abu Marzouk says that most of the hostages slated to be released have foreign citizenship, without specifying if they also hold Israeli passports, according to Channel 12. Israel has said that all the hostages will be Israeli citizens or residents.

Marzouk, the spokesperson referenced above, infamously admitted that Hamas built tunnels in Gaza for its terrorists, not to protect Palestinian civilians in the event of war.

Israelis are largely supportive of the hostage deal, while Israel’s leaders have vowed that the war will continue after the pause, which could last between four and ten days, depending on whether Hamas delivers additional hostages beyond the first 50.

However, far-right leader Itamar Ben Gvir has panned the deal, saying that it will prevent Israel from continuing the war, and noting that past prisoner releases have allowed terrorists to return to battle while incentivizing more hostage-taking.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.