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Netanyahu says truce won't start until Hamas lists hostages to be freed
Israeli prime minister 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.
He 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 is committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
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 under 90 minutes 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 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 ceasefire deadline of 0630 GMT Sunday, adding that when movement was allowed “a statement and instructions will be issued on safe transit methods”.
The ceasefire 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 were injured over the past 24 hours.
