Israel says Gaza ceasefire delayed until Hamas provides hostage list
Israelis, Palestinians celebrate ceasefire, look to return of hostages
The father of an Israeli soldier held by Hamas and Palestinians celebrated the ceasefire deal to end the war and free the hostages.
A ceasefire deal endorsed by Israel and Hamas was delayed from going into effect Sunday after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the militant group had yet to provide the names of the hostages it planned to release under the truce agreement.
Hamas said the delay was connected to “technical field reasons,” without elaborating.
Israel’s government formally approved the ceasefire deal late Friday in a cabinet vote. The truce, if it goes ahead as planned, will mark the first halt in fighting in Gaza in more than 15 months. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the delay was a temporary blip or a more significant derailment of the agreement.
Israel’s military swiftly carried out air and artillery strikes in Gaza amid the delay. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the military would continue fighting until Hamas provided the names of the first hostages it planned to release. Hamas was supposed to do that 24 hours ahead of the exchange.
The deal was expected to unfold in three stages.
The first stage would see 33 hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. During this time, Israeli troops would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza.
Negotiations for the second phase, when more hostages and prisoners will be released and the war would end, were expected to begin in early February − sixteen days after the implementation of the first stage.
The third phase involves Gaza’s reconstruction and the return of any remaining deceased hostages, a process that could take years.
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