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The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which was due to take effect on Sunday morning, was postponed after Hamas did not release the names of the hostages who would be released the same day, citing “technical reasons.”
The six-week ceasefire – the first phase of a multi-stage deal that halts the war in Gaza and paves the way for the release of hostages still held by Palestinian militants in the enclave – will take effect at 8:30 p.m. It was planned. 6:30 a.m. local time (Greenwich Mean Time).
But in a sign of the deal’s weakness, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said shortly before the ceasefire went into effect that it would not begin until Hamas provides Israel with a list of three hostages to be released on Sunday.
In a brief statement minutes later, Hamas said the delay in providing names was due to “technical reasons on the ground” without providing further details, but insisting it remained committed to the agreement.
Amid spontaneous celebrations across Gaza as the cease-fire expired and many displaced people prepared to return to their homes, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israel would continue to work until Hamas provided names. He said he would continue the attack.
Shortly after, the military announced it had attacked targets in northern and central Gaza. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that nine people were killed in shelling and explosions at multiple locations in the enclave.
If the ceasefire is implemented as originally planned, Hamas plans to release three of the 98 hostages it still holds in Gaza after Sunday. In exchange, Israel will release 90 Palestinian prisoners.
The multi-phase agreement offers hope of halting, and potentially ending, the bloodiest war in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has left Gaza in ruins, burned Israeli society and brought the Middle East to the brink of war. It is. A full-scale war.
The fighting was sparked by Hamas’ shocking attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli officials said the militants killed 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Palestinian officials say Israel has retaliated with devastating attacks on Gaza that have killed more than 46,000 people and displaced most of the coastal enclave’s 2.3 million people, creating a humanitarian catastrophe. spurred on.
After more than six months of failed attempts to broker a ceasefire, mediators announced last week that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a three-phase deal first offered by US President Joe Biden last May.
The first phase includes a six-week ceasefire during which Hamas plans to release a total of 33 hostages, including children, women, the sick and the elderly, in exchange for approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
Under the first phase of the agreement, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to their homelands, including in northern Gaza. The partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza will also result in a large influx of humanitarian aid to the enclave.
If the deal is implemented as planned, by the 16th of the first phase, Israel and Hamas will begin negotiating the details of the second phase of the deal, during which they will offer hundreds of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the rest of their lives. The hostages will be released. The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a permanent end to the war.
The final stage will include the return of the remaining bodies of the deceased hostages and the start of rebuilding Gaza, under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
However, Prime Minister Netanyahu is under intense pressure from far-right members of his coalition government to restart the war at the end of the first phase of the deal, and there are doubts whether the deal will be fully implemented.
On Saturday night, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir walked out of power as his Jewish Power party protested the deal, reducing Netanyahu’s majority in Israel’s 120-member parliament to just two seats. He said it would be.
Ben Gvir’s ultranationalist ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, also threatened to pull his Religious Zionist party from the government if the war is not restarted after the first phase of the deal. This would deprive Prime Minister Netanyahu of his parliamentary majority.
