Breaking: Thai PM confirms 12 Thai hostages freed by Hamas as 4-day truce begins in Gaza

Colombo (News 1st) - Thailand's Prime Minister announced late Friday (24th) that 12 of the 25 Thais who had been taken hostage by Hamas have been freed, hours after a 4-day truce began in Gaza, Foreign Media reported.

More hostages held by Hamas are due to be released, according to the government of Qatar, which brokered the ceasefire.

After seven weeks of fighting in Gaza that has killed over 16,000 people, the truce began at 7 a.m. local time (10:30 a.m. Sri Lanka time) on Friday (24th). 

The truce conditions include the release of 150 Palestinian women and children held by Israel. In exchange, Hamas would release 50 Israeli hostages it holds in Gaza. Should the truce be extended, more hostages would be released.

But any hopes that this would lead to a more permanent settlement of the conflict are slim. Israel has vowed to continue its attacks when the truce ends with the objective of completely destroying Hamas.

Nearly 15,000 Palestinians have been killed as Israeli military forces continue bombardment and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, which began following the Hamas raid that killed 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7. More than 1.5 million Gazans have been forced to flee their homes.

Hamas is holding approximately 240 hostages, Israeli and other nationalities, seized during the Oct. 7 raid. Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.