Names of Israeli hostages to be released on first day handed over – reports
Israel has received names of the hostages set to to be released on the first day of the ceasefire agreement, Israel’s principal mainstream news outlet, Channel 12, is reporting.
Hamas has said it is releasing these following Israeli hostages today:
1- Romi Gonen (24)
2- Emily Damari (28)
3- Doron Steinbrecher (31)
Hamas is expected to release 33 Israeli hostages in the first of a three-phase ceasefire deal, which has been approved by both sides following extensive mediation talks in Qatar. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are also due to be freed by Israel.
It is still unclear when the ceasefire will begin. It was due to start at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT) but has been delayed. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, attributed the delay to a “technical” issue. The list of names of the Israeli hostages to be released was a major stumbling block so could mean the ceasefire coming into effect is imminent.
Key events
Israeli minister resigns from government over ceasefire deal
Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and two other ministers from his nationalist-religious party have resigned from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in protest over the Gaza ceasefire deal.
More details soon…
Deadly Israeli attacks in Gaza continue as hostage list dispute delays ceasefire
Lorenzo Tondo
Fighting continued in Gaza on Sunday morning past the time set for a ceasefire after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had failed to provide the names of three hostages it was due to release later in the day.
Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names of the hostages due to be released on Sunday on “technical field reasons” and that the names would be released “any minute”. It said in a statement that it was committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
The Hamas-run civil defence agency said eight people had been killed after the Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire was supposed to take effect this morning. Three Palestinians were killed in eastern Gaza City by Israeli drones, medics in the territory said on Sunday. The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had struck “terror targets” in northern and central Gaza.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement at the time the ceasefire was meant to take effect, that Hamas was not meeting its obligations and that Israel would continue to attack as long as Hamas did not meet its demands.
Three female hostages were expected to be released on Sunday afternoon through the Red Cross, in return for 30 Palestinian prisoners each.
The highly anticipated ceasefire would open the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.
Hamas official says list of hostages to be given ‘any moment’
As we have already mentioned, the ceasefire was due to come into effect at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT), but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the temporary truce ill not go ahead until Hamas provides the names of the first hostages it plans to release. AFP is now quoting a Hamas official saying that the list of hostages would be handed over “any moment”, but that “complexities” in Gaza and Israeli bombing were causing delays.
The official, who took part in the ceasefire negotiations, said at “any moment, the names of the three prisoners… will be handed over, but the complexities of the field situation and the continued bombing have delayed that”. We have not been able to independently verify this information.
Here are some of the latest images coming in from the Gaza area as the ceasefire deadline passed amid a dispute and Israeli strikes continued.
An Israeli official said the Gaza ceasefire deal was expected to go forward despite the delay in the start of the truce, Associated Press is reporting.
The official said on Sunday that the timing of the deal’s progress remained in question, but also that mediators had provided assurances that Hamas would deliver the list of hostages meant to be handed over by Hamas to Israel.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing efforts to resolve the matter.
The delay on the first day of the ceasefire has underscored the fragility of the internationally mediated deal.
Israeli strikes kills three in Gaza, say medics
Lorenzo Tondo
Al Araby TV has reported that the Israeli military is shooting at Palestinians trying to return to their home in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Three Palestinians were killed in eastern Gaza City by Israeli drones that opened fire, medics in the territory said on Sunday.
The Israeli military confirmed it was continuing to carry out attacks in the strip, adding it had struck “terror targets” in northern and central Gaza.
The strikes came as the ceasefire implementation was delayed with Israel accusing Hamas of not fulfilling its obligation to send Israel the list of hostages to be released on the first day.
Hamas said the delay problems were “technical”. According to some unofficial sources, there would be a problem of correspondence between the Israeli hostages to be released and the Palestinian prisoners to be freed.
Lorenzo Tondo
The deadline for the start of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, supposed to begin at 8.30 local time, has passed and the Israeli army continues to shell areas in the territory.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Hamas had not lived up to its commitment to provide the names of the three hostages it was set to release later in the day in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.
Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesman, said the army “continues to attack” and would until Hamas complied with the agreement. Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”.
In the vicinity of Gaza City and central Gaza, residents have reported hearing gunfire and explosions at several locations.
Al Jazeera is showing live images of Israeli bombings with columns of smoke rising from the affected areas.
An Israeli official said mediators had provided assurances that the list would be delivered and the deal was still expected to go forward, though the timing remains in question.
Israeli tanks continued to shell areas in Gaza as the scheduled time of 8.30am (0630 GMT) for the ceasefire to take effect passed, Reuters reports.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a brief televised address on Sunday that the political echelon had directed the military to delay implementation and that it retained freedom to continue attacks in the Gaza Strip as long as the ceasefire had not taken effect.
As reported, he said the ceasefire was delayed as Hamas had not fulfilled its obligation to send Israel the list of hostages to be released on the first day. He said the military was completely ready to implement the ceasefire but it was also ready to act in case Hamas broke the terms of the deal.
In the vicinity of Gaza City and central Gaza, residents have reported hearing gunfire and explosions at several locations, Lorenzo Tondo reports.
Bethan McKernan reports that it “seems like people are already trying to move back home” in Gaza, thinking the ceasefire has gone into effect, and that Israel looks to be trying to stop them.
She says there are “big plumes of black smoke over Beit Hanoun” in north-east Gaza and that the sound of outgoing artillery and automatic gunfire can be heard.
IDF ‘continues to attack’ in Gaza amid dispute as truce start delayed
The Israeli military says it “continues to attack” inside the Gaza Strip as a dispute with Hamas delayed the start of a planned ceasefire, the Associated Press is reporting.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the truce would not begin until Hamas handed over the names of three hostages to be released later on Sunday, echoing an earlier statement from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lorenzo Tondo reports that it was unclear if the dispute had been resolved when the deadline for the truce to begin passed at 8.30am local time.
Hagari said soldiers were fully ready for the implementation of the ceasefire but also ready ‘‘to respond is terms are broken by Hamas”.
Reports are emerging that Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, will soon comment on the ceasefire’s apparent delay and the reasons behind it.
We’ll keep you updated as more comes to light.
The Israel-Hamas truce is scheduled to have begun now, starting at 8.30am local time (6.30am GMT) on Sunday, key mediator Qatar has said at the weekend.
Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier today, however, that the Gaza ceasefire would not begin until Israel had received a list of the hostages set to be released by Hamas.
IDF says body of soldier held in Gaza since 2014 recovered
The Israeli military says it has recovered the body of an Israeli soldier, Oron Shaul, who had been held in Gaza since 2014.
“Last night, in a special operation by the Shin Bet [security agency] and the IDF [military] … we brought back to Israel the body of Golani fighter Oron Shaul,” the military said in a statement on Sunday, AFP reports.
The Israeli army has warned Gaza residents not to approach its forces or make any movement towards the buffer zone ahead of a ceasefire’s scheduled start time of 6.30am GMT Sunday.
“We urge you not to head towards the buffer zone or IDF forces for your safety,” Agence France-Presse quoted military spokesperson Avichay Adraee as saying on Telegram.
“At this stage, heading towards the buffer zone or moving from south to north via Gaza Valley puts you at risk. Anyone heading towards these areas endangers themselves.”
Netanyahu says truce won’t start until Hamas lists hostages to be freed
Benjamin Netanyahu said early Sunday that the ceasefire in Gaza would not begin until Israel has received a list of the hostages set to be released from Hamas.
The Israeli prime minister reiterated the warning in a statement barely an hour before the ceasefire was set to begin at 8.30am local time, the Associated Press reports.
Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”. It said in a statement that it was committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
The exchange raised doubts about whether the ceasefire would begin as planned. Hamas is expected to release three hostages later on Sunday in exchange for scores of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel in the ceasefire’s first phase.
Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. It’s 7.22am in Tel Aviv and Gaza City and we’re just over an hour away from the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas scheduled to come into effect at 8.30am local time (6.30am GMT) on Sunday.
The ceasefire, set to be followed by a hostage release hours later, opens the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East, as Reuters reports.
Israeli forces started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, pro-Hamas media reported early on Sunday.
Israel’s military warned Gaza residents not to approach its troops or move around the Palestinian territory ahead of the 8.30am ceasefire deadline, adding that when movement was allowed “a statement and instructions will be issued on safe transit methods”.
The truce agreement followed months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the US and came just ahead of the 20 January inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump.
Under the three-stage ceasefire, its first stage will last six weeks, during which 33 of the remaining 98 hostages – women, children, men over 50, the ill and wounded – will be released in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
In other developments:
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Benjamin Netanyahu said the first stage of the deal was temporary, adding: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways.” The prime minister added that both Donald Trump and Joe Biden back Israel’s “right to resume fighting if the second stage is fruitless”. Netanyahu also said Israel would not go ahead with the ceasefire deal until it received a list of the 33 hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the deal’s first phase. “Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. The sole responsibility lies with Hamas.”
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Hamas said on Saturday that the mechanism of the release of Israeli hostages it held in Gaza would depend on the number of detained Palestinians Israel would free. Hamas also said Israel had “failed to achieve its aggressive goals” in Gaza.
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Yemen’s Houthis claimed an attack on a US aircraft carrier on Sunday and warned of “consequences” for any retaliation during the coming Gaza ceasefire. The Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday. The military activated air raid sirens in Jerusalem and in parts of central and southern Israel ahead of the interceptions.
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Israeli forces have killed at least 46,899 Palestinians and injured 110,725 since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in an update on Saturday. It said 23 Palestinians were killed and 83 had been injured over the past 24 hours.
