Hamas and Israel have agreed to stop fighting in Gaza for four days as part of an agreement in which Hamas will release 50 captives in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian women and children incarcerated in its jails.

There were about 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli prisons before October 7 when Hamas launched a surprise blitz on Israel. That number rose to 10,000 as Israel seized more Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to a TRT report.

The captives are from settler communities in southern Israel, as well as people attending an outdoor music festival.

In addition to Israeli citizens, more than half the captives held foreign and dual citizenship from some 40 countries, including the US, Thailand, Britain, France, Argentina, Germany, Chile, Spain, and Portugal, Israel’s government has said.

Read the full piece here.

Opinion

Editorial

A breakthrough?
07 May, 2026

A breakthrough?

The whole world would welcome an end to this pointless war.
Missed opportunity
07 May, 2026

Missed opportunity

A BIG opportunity to industrialise Pakistan has just passed us by. This has been reconfirmed by the investment...
Punishing dissent
07 May, 2026

Punishing dissent

THE Sindh government’s treatment of the Aurat March this week was a disgraceful assault on democratic rights. What...
The May war
Updated 06 May, 2026

The May war

Rationality demands that both states come to the table and discuss their grievances, and their solutions in a mature manner.
Looking inwards
06 May, 2026

Looking inwards

REGULAR appraisals by human rights groups and activists should not be treated by the authorities as attempts to ...
Feeling the heat
06 May, 2026

Feeling the heat

ANOTHER heatwave season has begun, and once again, the state is scrambling to respond to conditions it has long been...