Smoke could be seen rising from Gaza Wednesday, less than 12 hours before the temporary truce was expected to take hold.
Fighting continued through Wednesday night in Gaza ahead of the four-day cease-fire for a hostage and prisoner swap, the first diplomatic breakthrough in Israel’s relentless almost seven week blitz.
The deal between Israel and Hamas was struck to allow for the release of 50 of the approximately 240 Israeli hostages Hamas captured during its Oct. 7 terror attack in exchange for up to 150 Palestinian prisoners.
In the hours before Israel was set to ramp down its military campaign at 10 a.m. local time Thursday its defense forces said it had taken over a compound in the Sheikh Zayed neighborhood, the Israeli outlet Haaretz reported.
An Israeli Defense Force fighter jet also intercepted a cruise missile over the Red Sea that was believed to have been launched towards the southern city of Eilat. Yemen’s Iran-backed group Houthis took credit for the attack.
The IDF also said it killed six terrorists and arrested 29 suspects, including three Hamas terrorists in a raid on the Dheisheh refugee camp, the outlet said.
Less than 12 hours until the truce was set to begin, smoke could still be seen rising from Gaza from the vantagepoint of Sderot and highways around Ashkelon, according to The Jerusalem Post.
