A four-day truce agreed by Israel and Hamas is due to begin at 7 am today Friday. The beginning of the four-day truce on Friday will mark the first pause in fighting in nearly seven weeks of war.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari said the first batch of 13 civilian hostages held in the Gaza Strip would be released at 4 pm on Friday. All of the 13 are women and children.

The deal also foresees the release in stages of 100 hostages from Gaza and 300 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.