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Hamas on Sunday provided Israel with the names of three female hostages expected to be released later in the day, raising hopes that a delayed ceasefire between the two sides in Gaza could come into effect.
The six-week truce – the first step in a multi-phase deal that would end the war in Gaza and pave the way for the release of hostages still held in the enclave by the Palestinian militant group – was due to take effect at 8:30 a.m. . am local time (06:30 GMT).
But, in a sign of the fragility of the arrangements, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared shortly before the ceasefire came into force that it would not begin until Hamas had provided Israel with a list of three hostages who would be released on Sunday.
Two hours after the ceasefire began, Hamas said it had provided the names of the three women. It had previously indicated that the delay was due to “technical reasons on the ground”.
An Israeli official confirmed that the names had been received, adding that Israel was “committed” to the deal and still hoped it would come into force on Sunday.
As the original ceasefire deadline passed and spontaneous celebrations spread across Gaza, where many displaced people were preparing to return home, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that Israel would continue its strikes until Hamas provided the names.
Shortly after, the army said it had hit targets in northern and central Gaza. The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported bombings and explosions in several locations in the enclave and said nine people had been killed.
If the truce is implemented as initially planned, Hamas will release the three women on Sunday in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
The multi-phase deal offers hope of a halt – and potentially an end – to the bloodiest war in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has left Gaza in ruins, consumed Israeli society and brought the Middle East to the brink of complete chaos. -a blown war.
The fighting was sparked by Hamas’ shock attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which militants killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and took another 250 hostages in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Israel responded with a devastating attack on Gaza, which killed more than 46,000 people, according to Palestinian officials, in addition to displacing most of the coastal enclave’s 2.3 million residents and fueling a humanitarian catastrophe .
After more than six months of failed attempts to negotiate a ceasefire, mediators announced last week that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a three-phase deal, initially outlined by US President Joe Biden in May from last year.
The first phase involves a six-week truce, during which Hamas will release 33 of the 98 hostages still in Gaza – including children, women, the sick and the elderly – in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
In the first phase of the agreement, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return home, including to northern Gaza. There will also be a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a massive influx of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
On the 16th day of the first phase, Israel and Hamas are expected to begin negotiating the details of the second phase of the agreement, during which the remaining hostages will be released in exchange for hundreds of additional Palestinian prisoners, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza. , and a definitive end to the war.
The final phase will involve the return of the remaining bodies of the deceased hostages, as well as the start of the reconstruction of Gaza, under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the UN.
However, doubts remain over whether the deal will be fully implemented, with Netanyahu under intense pressure from far-right members of his coalition to resume the war at the end of the first stage of the ‘agreement.
On Sunday, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir withdrew his Jewish Power party from the government to protest the deal, reducing Netanyahu’s majority in Israel’s 120-seat parliament to just two.
Ben-Gvir’s ultranationalist ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has also threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if the war does not resume after the first stage of the agreement. If he did so, it would deprive Netanyahu of his parliamentary majority.
In a statement Saturday evening, Netanyahu said the administrations of outgoing US President Joe Biden and his successor Donald Trump supported Israel’s right to resume war if negotiations over the details of the second phase failed.
“If we must return to the fight, we will do it in new ways, and we will do it with great force,” Netanyahu said.
