Israel — wrenched by the abduction of nearly 240 people in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war — cheered as 13 Israeli women and children emerged free from Gaza. Most were in their 70s or 80s, and the youngest was a 2-year-old. Also released were 10 people from Thailand and one from the Philippines.

In Gaza, the truce’s start Friday morning brought the first quiet for 2.3 million Palestinians reeling and desperate from relentless Israeli bombardment that has killed thousands, driven three-quarters of the population from their homes and leveled residential areas. Rocket fire from Gaza militants into Israel went silent as well.

Increased supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel promised under the deal began to roll into Gaza, where U.N. officials had warned that Israel’s seal on the territory threatened to push it to starvation.

But relief has been tempered — among Israelis by the fact that not all hostages will be freed and among Palestinians by the briefness of the pause. The short truce leaves Gaza mired in humanitarian crisis and under the threat that fighting could soon resume.

Israel says the cease-fire could be extended if more hostages are released, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had received a new list of hostages to be released by Hamas on Saturday.

But Israel has vowed to resume its massive offensive once the truce ends. That has clouded hopes that the deal could eventually help wind down the conflict, which has fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East.FIRST HOSTAGES FREED

Under the deal, Hamas is to release at least 50 hostages, and Israel 150 Palestinian prisoners over the four days. Both sides were starting with women and children. Israel said the four-day truce can be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed.

After nightfall Friday, a line of ambulances emerged from Gaza through the Rafah Crossing into Egypt carrying the freed hostages, as seen live on Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera TV. The freed Israelis included nine women and four children 9 and under.

The released hostages were taken to three Israeli hospitals for observation. The Schneider Children’s Medical Center said it was treating eight Israelis — four children and four women — and that all appeared to be in good physical condition. The center said they were also receiving psychological treatment, adding that “these are sensitive moments” for the families.

At a plaza dubbed “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv, a crowd of Israelis celebrated at the news.

Yael Adar spotted her mother, 85-year-old Yaffa Adar, in a TV newscast of the release and was cheered to see her walking. “That was a huge concern, what would happen to her health during these almost two months,” she told Israel’s Channel 12.

But Yael’s 38-year-old son, Tamir Adar, remained in captivity. Both were kidnapped on Oct. 7 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. “Everyone needs to come back. It’s happiness locked up in grief.”

The hostages included multiple generations. Nine-year-old Ohad Munder-Zichri was freed along with his mother, Keren Munder, and grandmother Ruti Munder. The fourth-grader was abducted during a holiday visit to his grandparents at the kibbutz where about 80 people — nearly a quarter of all residents of the small community — are believed to have been taken hostage.

The plight of the hostages has raised anger among some families that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to bring them home.

Hours later, 24 Palestinian women and 15 teenagers held in Israeli prisons in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem were freed. In the West Bank town of Beituna, hundreds of Palestinians poured out of their homes to celebrate, honking horns and setting off fireworks that lite up the nights sky.

The teenagers had been jailed for minor offenses like throwing stones. The women included several convicted of trying to stab Israeli soldiers, and others who had been arrested at checkpoints in the West Bank.

“As a Palestinian, my heart is broken for my brothers in Gaza, so I can’t really celebrate,” said Abdulqader Khatib, a U.N. worker whose 17-year-old son, Iyas, was freed. “But I am a father. And deep inside, I am very happy.”

Iyas had been taken last year into “administrative detention,” without charges or trial and based on secret evidence. Israel often holds detainees for months without charges. Most of those who are tried are put before military courts that almost never acquit defendants and often don’t follow due process, human rights groups say.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an advocacy group, Israel is currently holding 7,200 Palestinians, including about 2,000 arrested since the start of the war.CEASE-FIRE TAKES HOLD

Friday’s halt in fighting brought Gaza’s uprooted population a moment to catch their breath after weeks of fleeing for shelter, searching for food and fearing for family.

After the truce began Friday morning, four trucks of fuel and four trucks of cooking gas entered from Egypt, as well as 200 trucks of relief supplies, Israel said.

Israel has barred all imports into Gaza throughout the war, except for a trickle of supplies from Egypt.

Its ban on fuel, which it said could be diverted to Hamas, caused a territory-wide blackout. Hospitals, water systems, bakeries and shelters have struggled to keep generators running.

During the truce, Israel agreed to allow the delivery of 130,000 liters (34,340 gallons) of fuel per day — still only a small portion of Gaza’s estimated daily needs of more than 1 million liters.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are crowded into the southern portion of the territory, with more than 1 million living in U.N. schools-turned-shelters. The calm brought a chance for displaced residents of the south to visit homes and retrieve some belongings.

But the hundreds of thousands who evacuated from northern Gaza to the south were warned not to return in leaflets dropped by Israel. Israeli troops hold much of the north, including Gaza City.

Still, hundreds of Palestinians tried walking north Friday. Two were shot and killed by Israeli troops and another 11 were wounded.

Sofian Abu Amer decided to risk checking his home in Gaza City.

“We don’t have enough clothes, food and drinks,” he said. “The situation is disastrous. It’s better for a person to die.”

Israel’s northern border with Lebanon was also quiet on Friday, a day after the militant Hezbollah group, an ally of Hamas, carried out the highest number of attacks in one day since fighting there began Oct. 8.

Hezbollah is not a party to the cease-fire agreement but was widely expected to halt its attacks.A LONGER PEACE?

The war erupted when several thousand Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking scores of hostages, including babies, women and older adults, as well as soldiers.

The hope is that “momentum” from the deal will lead to an “end to this violence,” said Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which served as a mediator along with the United States and Egypt.

But hours before it came into effect, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops that their respite would be short and that the war would resume with intensity for at least two more months.

Netanyahu has also vowed to continue the war to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities, end its 16-year rule in Gaza and return all the hostages.

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza government. Women and minors have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead, though the latest number was not broken down. The figure does not include updated numbers from hospitals in the north, where communications have broken down.

The ministry says some 6,000 people have been reported missing, feared buried under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its death tolls.

Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, without presenting evidence for its count.

___

Federman reported from Jerusalem, Jeffery from Cairo. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed.

Six officers already on the scene working as part of a detail were quickly alerted and worked to deescalate the situation.

Several individuals involved in the dispute were detained for questioning and to receive necessary medical treatment. Videos of the fight posted to social media show a chaotic scene and at least one individual with a bloody face.

No arrests were made, but Saugus Police said the investigation is ongoing and that charges may be forthcoming, particularly for one individual who was seen using a glass bottle in the fight, a felony offense.

“The Kowloon is a family friendly restaurant, unfortunately a few unruly patrons ruined a nice evening for many others,” Saugus Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli said in a statement. “A disturbance such as this on Thanksgiving Eve is unacceptable and disgusting.”

The restaurant and bar closed early following the conflict.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Saugus Police at 781-941-1199.

Officers responding to a reported shooting in the area of 165 Carl Ave. around 3 p.m. found the woman injured, according to police.

A detective located the suspect soon after and placed him in custody. His name has not been released.

The 39-year-old woman was taken to the hospital with what were considered non-life-threatening injuries.

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Police made a number of further arrests on Friday evening as they mounted a significant security operation in Dublin to ensure that there was no repeat of Thursday’s disorder. A number of people were taken away in police vans following sporadic altercations.

Police arrested 34 people after Thursday night’s rioting when up to 500 people looted shops, set fire to vehicles and threw rocks at crowd control officers equipped with helmets and shields.

The violence began after rumors circulated that a foreign national was responsible for the attack outside a Dublin school on Thursday afternoon. Authorities haven’t disclosed the suspect’s nationality.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Ireland’s capital had endured two attacks, one on innocent children and the other on “our society and the rule of law.”

“These criminals did not do what they did because they love Ireland, they did not do what they did because they wanted to protect Irish people, they did not do it out of any sense of patriotism, however warped,” Varadkar told reporters on Friday morning. “They did so because they’re filled with hate, they love violence, they love chaos and they love causing pain to others.”

A 5-year-old girl was in critical condition at a Dublin hospital and a teacher’s aide was in serious condition, police said. A 6-year-old girl continues to receive treatment for less serious injuries and another child was discharged overnight. The alleged assailant, who was tackled by witnesses, remains hospitalized in serious condition.

Thursday’s unrest came amid rising tensions over immigration in Ireland that mirror trends in other parts of Europe. Earlier this year, people carrying signs reading “Ireland is full” demonstrated in Dublin, and protesters blockaded a hotel housing asylum-seekers in County Clare on the west coast.

An analysis of more than 13 million social media posts over the past three years found that right-wing groups were increasingly using platforms such as X, formerly known as Twitter, to stir up opposition to immigration. Recent activity has characterized the refugees and asylum-seekers as an “existential threat to Ireland,” according to a report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based group that seeks to combat extremism.

Ireland received more than 141,000 immigrants in the 12 months through April, the highest total since 2007, the latest government statistics show. The influx of migrants drove an 11.7% increase in Ireland’s population over the past 11 years, contributing to a steady increase in housing prices.

When he was questioned about anti-immigration tensions earlier this year, Varadkar told Ireland’s parliament that there was always a place for peaceful protest, but violence, intimidation and racism were never legitimate.

“I think when it comes to this matter, we should never lose sight of the bigger picture — we’re facing a major refugee crisis not just here in Ireland but all across Europe,” he said in May.

Commissioner Drew Harris, head of Ireland’s national police force, described those who took part in Thursday’s unrest as a “complete lunatic hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology.”

More than 400 officers, including many in riot gear, were deployed throughout the city center to contain the violence. A cordon was set up around the Irish Parliament building, Leinster House, and mounted officers were dispatched to nearby Grafton Street.

One officer was seriously injured in clashes with the rioters, some of whom were armed with metal bars and covered their faces.

“These (riots) are scenes that we have not seen in decades, but what is clear is that people have been radicalized through social media and the internet,’’ Harris told reporters.

“But I don’t want to lose focus on the terrible event in terms of the dreadful assault on schoolchildren and their teacher. There’s a full investigation ongoing. There’s also a full investigation in respect on the disorder.”

Varadkar praised people of multiple nationalities who intervened to stop the attack as it unfolded, describing them as “real Irish heroes.”

One of them was Caio Benicio, a Brazilian delivery driver who stopped when he saw the teacher’s aide trying to save the children. Spotting a knife, he ripped off his helmet and slammed it into the attacker with all his strength.

“I pray for her to survive,” Benicio said of the child in critical condition. “I’m a parent myself, I have two kids and I know how hard it is.”

Benicio told Britain’s Press Association that the disturbances seemed to be caused by a “small group of people” who “wanted an excuse to do what they did.”

“I’m here for about 20 years now, I don’t know politics here deeply to have an opinion about it,” he said. “What I can say is I know the protest is against immigrants and for me it doesn’t make sense, because I’m an immigrant myself and I was the one who helped out. For me it doesn’t make sense.”

___

Pan Pylas contributed to this report.

In Florida, preliminary state statistics show more than 133,840 loggerhead turtle nests, breaking a record set in 2016. Same for green turtles, where the estimate of at least 76,500 nests is well above the previous mark set in 2017.

High sea turtle nest numbers also have been reported in South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia, although not all set records like Florida, where Justin Perrault, vice president of research at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, said the number of nests is remarkable this year.

“We had more nests than we had ever seen before on our local beaches,” said Perrault, whose organization monitors Palm Beach County and broke a local record by 4,000 nests. “That’s quite a bit of nesting.”

There are seven species of sea turtles: loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley and flatback. All are considered either endangered or threatened. They come ashore on summer nights, digging pits in the sand and depositing dozens of eggs before covering them up and returning to the sea. Florida beaches are one of the most important hatcheries for loggerheads in the world.

Only about one in 1,000 sea turtle hatchlings live to adulthood. They face myriad natural threats, including predators on land and in the ocean, disruptions to nests and failure to make it to the water after hatching. This year along one stretch of Florida’s Gulf Coast where 75 nests had been counted, most were wiped out by the surge from Hurricane Idalia in August.

“Unfortunately, the nests pre-Idalia were almost all lost due to the high tides and flooding on our barrier islands,” said Carly Oakley, senior turtle conservation biologist at Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Female turtles generally lay eggs in a three-year cycle, leading to up-and-down years of nests, she said. “The nesting process is very exhausting and, in this break, females regain the energy to do the process again,” Oakley said.

Climate change has added to those challenges, reducing beaches as sea levels rise and causing more powerful tropical storms. Hotter air, water and sand and changes in the ocean currents turtles use to migrate also lower the odds of surviving, according to Oceana, an international conservation group.

Sand temperatures play a major role in determining sea turtle sex. In general, warmer temperatures produce more female turtles, and sand temperatures are projected to increase dramatically around the world by 2100, according to researchers at Florida State University.

“So the warmer the nest is, the more likely that nest is to produce females,” Perrault said. “Additionally, hatchlings that come out of warmer nests are much smaller and often slower.”

A study led by FSU professor Mariana Fuentes that was published recently in the Global Change Biology journal found sea turtles will have to nest much later or much earlier than they currently do to cope with changing environmental conditions.

Even that may not be enough for every species, said Fuentes, who works in FSU’s Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science. Turtles have adapted to altered climates over millions of years, but today’s rapid changes could happen too quickly for them to evolve, she said.

“We have found that even if they do change the timing of their nesting, that’s not going to be sufficient to maintain the temperatures of current nesting grounds,” Fuentes said.

Sea turtle mothers already have to lumber out of the water to find a good spot to nest, which can be difficult in areas where humans have built seawalls. Some female turtles make several attempts, known as false crawls, before finding a suitable location.

Racoons, coyotes and other predators raid the nests and hatchlings, once they dig their way out, have to crawl to the sea before being snatched up by birds and other animals. Electric lights can disorient them, causing turtles to head the wrong way on the beach instead of following light from the moon and stars. And when the lucky ones finally start swimming, hungry fish await.

Michelle Pate, biologist at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said tens of thousands of hatchlings don’t make it to the water, even as nest numbers trend higher across much of the Southeast.

“If we can’t get hatchlings to emerge and make it to the ocean, then an increase in nest numbers doesn’t help,” she said.

The increase in turtle nests this year conceals an ominous future for the animals, Perrault said.

“Yes, we’re seeing record numbers, but our hatchling production may not be that great,” he said. “And so in the future, 20 to 30 years from now, and these things come back to nest, we may not be seeing these record numbers that we’re seeing now.”

___

AP video journalist Cody Jackson contributed from Juno Beach, Florida.

Robby Fabbri, Dylan Larkin and David Perron also scored for the Red Wings, who are the only team to beat Boston (14-2-3) in regulation. Shayne Gostisbehere had two assists and Ville Husso stopped 25 shots.

“A big win for us,” Husso said.

In their third meeting in a month — the Bruins won the first game on Oct. 28 — Detroit took advantage of six Boston penalties to improve to 10-0-2 when scoring four or more goals.

“A really good start. I feel like our guys were focused and locked in,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “A pretty complete road game against a very good team.”

Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen scored for the Bruins, who had been 5-0-2 since losing at Detroit on Nov. 4. Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves on his 25th birthday.

“It’s one thing if you play well and things happen and you don’t get the result,” Bruins center Charlie Coyle said. “But that wasn’t the case I don’t think.”

Despite a 16-save shutout Wednesday against New Jersey, Alex Lyon was the Red Wings’ backup. Husso had allowed at least four goals in his past three starts, but had been on paternity leave and hadn’t played since Nov. 11.

“He should have a kid every six weeks,” Lalonde said, smiling.

The Bruins finally solved Husso when DeBrusk knocked home his own rebound on the power play to get Boston within 2-1 early in the second period.

It was DeBrusk’s second goal in as many games after managing one in his first 16 games.

But Husso kept the surging Bruins at bay until Fabbri scored on a wrist shot from the faceoff circle at 13:24 of the second.

Heinen’s wrist shot 4:12 into the third got the Bruins within a goal. But Brandon Carlo was called for hooking less than a minute later and Larkin scored five seconds into the power play to give Detroit another two-goal cushion.

Perron added an empty-netter with 1:45 left.

“Once we did start chipping away, it seemed like we had a penalty and they would capitalize,” DeBrusk said. “They controlled our momentum swings and that’s why they got the win.”

Boston coach Jim Montgomery gave veteran James van Riemsdyk the day off in the team’s traditional Black Friday home matinee, with Morgan Geekie returning to the lineup.

An early Geekie miscue and an odd bounce put the Bruins in a hole. With Geekie serving a holding penalty, Compher redirected Gostisbehere’s shot at 5:13. The puck bounced off Swayman’s chest and trickled between his legs.

The Red Wings made it 2-0 late in the first period when DeBrincat pickpocketed rookie Matt Poitras in the neutral zone, skated in alone and wristed a shot past Swayman for his team-high 12th goal.

Boston couldn’t overcome the sleepy start and lost in regulation at home for just the fifth time in 50 regular-season home games over the past two seasons.

After using 11 forwards and seven defensemen for several games this season, including their first victory over Boston, the Red Wings had a traditional 12-6 lineup with Jake Walman (illness) scratched.

It worked as Detroit won its second straight after returning from a 0-1-1 trip to Sweden.

“We know we’re a good team,” Husso said. “If we can bring it every night, every day, our best game, we can beat any team in this league.”

UP NEXT

Red Wings: Host Minnesota on Sunday.

Bruins: At the New York Rangers on Saturday, with Matt Grzelcyk (upper-body injury) expected to return.

___

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Paolo Banchero had 23 points and seven rebounds for Orlando. Franz Wagner finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Cole Anthony came off the bench with 16 points.

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 26 points. Jaylen Brown added 18, but made just 2 of 16 shots after scoring 12 points in the first 10 minutes.

Jalen Suggs hit two of the Magic’s four 3-pointers on a 17-0 run after Boston had taken a 62-50 lead early in the third quarter. The Celtics missed all eight shots during the game-changing run and went scoreless for 4:42.

The Magic finished 3-1 in group play. The loss dropped Boston to 2-1 with a game at home against Chicago coming up on Tuesday night. The Brooklyn Nets, who beat the Magic, are also 2-1 pending a game against Toronto on Tuesday night. Friday’s score left the Magic with a plus-17 point differential in group play and the Celtics are at zero.

If there is a three-way tie after group play, point differential will determine the group champion.

Boston center Kristaps Porzingis left the game in the third quarter with tightness in his left calf after scoring nine points and taking down four rebounds.

The Celtics also played without Jrue Holiday, who missed his first game of the season with a sprained right ankle.

Sam Hauser’s 3-pointer gave Boston an 11-point lead, the largest of the first half, after a first quarter in which Orlando shot 8 for 22 with eight turnovers.

UP NEXT

Celtics: Host Atlanta on Sunday night.

Magic: Host Charlotte on Sunday night.