4:40 PM ET, November 23, 2023
He is expected to be released tomorrow and what will the exchange look like? Here’s the latest
From CNN staff
at first Release of Hamas hostages The release of 13 women and children is scheduled to take place in Gaza on Friday afternoon local time, according to Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari.
Al-Ansari was unable to provide details about the identity of the hostages, nor was he able to provide details about the route they might take for safety reasons. However, many of the first 50 hostages are expected to exit via Egypt.
The Israeli government said that their families and the families of the hostages who will not be released have been notified. Al-Ansari also revealed that hostages from the same families will be released together in the first group.
Meanwhile, an Israeli official told CNN that 39 Palestinian prisoners will be released on Friday as part of the deal.
The prisoners will be transferred from two prisons – Damon and Megiddo, both southeast of Haifa – and transferred to Ofer Prison, south of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, for final examinations by the Red Cross.
The released prisoners are expected to be women and teenagers up to 18 years of age.
The timing of the release of the prisoners is not yet clear, but the Israeli official said that the prisoners will not be released until the hostages from Gaza return to Israeli hands.
Here’s what you should know this Thursday:
The Israeli military said it “intercepted a number of launches” and later confirmed it had used helicopters and fighter jets to strike Hezbollah infrastructure and missile launch sites in Lebanon, in response to the militant group’s attacks.
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