The cease-fire was made possible after Hamas provided the list of the first hostages released.
Israeli authorities have announced the beginning of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The Time of Israel reported this on Sunday, January 19.
“After Hamas provided a list of hostages scheduled to be released today, Israel announced that the truce would take effect at 11:15 am local time,” the report said.
It was originally planned that the first phase of the truce would start at 8:30 today. However, it was delayed due to Hamas’s delay in providing a list of the names of the three female captives scheduled to be released today. We are talking about Romi Hohnen (24 years old), Emily Damari (28) and Doron Steinbrecher (31).
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued to attack Hamas terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip for the past two hours.
As you know, this week in the capital of Qatar, representatives of Israel and the Hamas group signed an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. The peace agreement is scheduled to take effect at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 19, Gaza local time (the same as Kyiv). The IDF confirmed the start time of the truce in a statement.
In the first phase of the operation, 737 Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli prisons, as well as 1,167 detained Gazans who were not involved in the October 7 attack. At the same time, Hamas is expected to release 33 of the 98 Israeli hostages held in Gaza. during the six-week cessation of hostilities. Israeli authorities believe these hostages are still alive, but there has been no confirmation from Hamas.
It is expected that on the night of January 19, the first hostages will be handed over to the Red Cross and rescue teams of Egypt and Qatar. The freed prisoners will be taken to Egypt and handed over to the Israeli side, who will provide a medical examination.
The day before, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the war with Hamas may continue if the second phase of the peace agreement fails.
At the same time, this morning the media reported that Israel began withdrawing troops from Gaza.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.