Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip). Palestinian extremist group Hamas released the names of three female hostages it plans to release on Sunday. The deadlock over the ceasefire was resolved with the release of the names of the hostages. Israel said the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect at 11:15 am local time. The ceasefire was to take effect at 8:30 am local time, but it was delayed by about three hours due to Hamas not releasing the list of hostages.
As soon as the ceasefire came into effect, there were celebrations at the fighting sites and some Palestinians have started returning to their homes. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ceasefire in Gaza will not be effective until Hamas provides a list of three hostages to be released in exchange for several Palestinian prisoners.
Netanyahu said in a statement that he had instructed the military that the cease-fire, which took effect at 8:30 a.m. local time, “will not take effect until Israel receives a list of the hostages to be released, Which Hamas had promised to provide.
Israel’s military said it is “continuing to attack” the Gaza Strip as a dispute with Hamas delays the ceasefire taking effect. Rear Admiral Daniel Haghari, the army’s chief spokesman, said the ceasefire would not take effect until Hamas handed over the names of the three hostages to be released on Sunday.
At least eight people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern city of Khan Yunis following a delay in the ceasefire. Nasser Hospital confirmed casualties in Sunday’s attack, which it said happened about two hours after the ceasefire took effect. Gaza’s health ministry on Sunday reported three more deaths in attacks in Gaza City.
Hamas cited “technical reasons” for the delay in handing over the names. It said in a statement that it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement announced last week. Meanwhile, Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s party said its Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations on Sunday in protest against the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Israel released information that a special operation has recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. The bodies of Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, were in Gaza after the 2014 war and were not returned despite requests from the families of the deceased soldiers. The special operation was launched hours before the ceasefire came into effect.
