Israel and Hamas to start four-day truce

The news: Israel and Hamas will start a four-day truce on Friday morning with a first group of 13 Israeli hostages released later the same day, Reuters reported.

The numbers: The truce is due begin at 7am local time (4pm AEDT), calling in a comprehensive ceasefire in north and south Gaza, according to Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari. The truce will allow further aid into Gaza, while the first hostages are to be freed at 4pm local time (1am on Saturday AEDT), and a total of 50 hoped to be released over the four days.

The context: Fighting has continued in the lead up to the first planned break in the near seven-week war. Both Israel and Hamas signalled the truce would be temporary and that military operations would continue.

What they said: Qatari spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said it was expected that Israel would release imprisoned Palestinians as part of the deal. He also said: "We all hope that this truce will lead to a chance to start a wider work to achieve a permanent truce."