Israel confirmed that it had received the names of the hostages from Hamas, so the ceasefire agreement will take effect on January 19, as previously planned.
This is reported by The Times of Israel.
The ceasefire agreement will now take effect on January 19 at 11:15 a.m. local time. Three women, Romy Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher, are also expected to be released today, The Times of Israel reported. The publication later redacted the womenʼs names after Israeli authorities requested that Israeli media not publish the names of the hostages.
In an Instagram post, Romiʼs brother Gonen Shahaf wrote that she was "on the list. Itʼs official. Good luck to all of us". Romi was taken hostage during the festival on October 7, 2023. Three of her friends who were with her that day were killed.
The ceasefire agreement was originally scheduled to take effect at 8:30 a.m. today, but Israel continued to attack the Gaza Strip because Hamas failed to provide a list of hostages to be released today in time, thereby violating the terms of the agreement.
After that, Hamas emphasized that they "reaffirm their commitment to the terms of the ceasefire agreement", and that the delay in transmitting the data was due to "technical reasons".
Gaza ceasefire agreement
On the evening of January 15, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. This was confirmed by the US President-elect Donald Trump. The move could ease tensions in the Middle East, where conflicts continue in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
Media reports say that in the first phase, IDF will withdraw to within 700 meters of the Gaza Strip, Israel will release approximately 2 000 Palestinians and Hamas will release 33 Israeli prisoners. Israel will allow the wounded in Gaza to move through the territory to receive medical care and will open the Rafah crossing with Egypt. The IDF troops will begin to withdraw from the Philadelphia Corridor.
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