Israel's military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells.

Nearly 1 million Palestinians have fled the north, including its urban center, Gaza City, as ground combat intensified. When the war ends, any relief will quickly be overshadowed by dread as displaced families come to terms with the scale of the calamity and what it means for their future.

A temporary cease-fire agreement to facilitate the release of dozens of people taken hostage during Hamas' raid on Israel is expected to bring the first respite to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza and a glimmer of hope to the families of the captives.

After hitting a last-minute snag, the deal took effect Friday, a day later than originally planned. Under its terms, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day halt in hostilities. Palestinian prisoners held by Israel would also be freed as part of the agreement.

A four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war took effect early Friday, setting the stage for the exchange of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza in return for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The halt in fighting promised some relief for Gaza's 2.3 million people, who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as families in Israel fearful for the fate of loved ones taken captive during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.

Ahead of a slated several-day pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday that once the “short” temporary truce with Hamas ends, the Israeli military will resume “with intensity” for at least two more months.

A pause in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza will start on Friday morning and an exchange of hostages and prisoners will follow hours later, mediator Qatar said, after nearly seven weeks of fighting.

The breakthrough four-day truce facilitated by Qatar with help from Egypt and the United States had been due to take effect on Thursday but was delayed after a last-minute hitch.

A U.S. warship patrolling the Red Sea intercepted multiple attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen on Thursday, the U.S. Central Command said.

"On the morning (Yemen time) of November 23, the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen," CENTCOM said on X.

France on Thursday said an agreement between Israel and Hamas on the release of 50 hostages in exchange for a humanitarian truce should go ahead "without further delay".

Paris is also urging "the immediate release of all hostages", said Anne-Claire Legendre, spokeswoman for the French foreign ministry. "We call for the terms of this agreement to be fully respected," she added.

The mastermind of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the worst Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed in generations is a secretive figure, feared on both sides of the battle lines.

In Gaza, no figure looms larger in determining the future trajectory of the war than Yehya Sinwar. Obsessive, disciplined and dictatorial, he is Hamas' top leader inside the Palestinian territory, a rarely seen veteran militant who learned fluent Hebrew during years in Israeli prisons and carefully studied his enemy.

The negotiations hardly ran smoothly. But in the end, persistence paid off.

Six weeks ago, not long after Hamas' surprise assault, the government of Qatar quietly reached out to the United States to discuss how to release those who had been taken captive by the militant group.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day halt in their devastating war in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages taken captive by militants on Oct. 7, when Israeli communities were overrun and some 240 people abducted.

The agreement will bring the first respite to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 11,000 people, many women and children, have been killed. It could also offer a glimmer of hope to the families of those abducted weeks ago.