Hamas yet to provide hostage list, warns truce could fail
Contention over hostage information has arisen between the warring parties in Gaza on the eve of the newly brokered ceasefire, it was reported on Saturday.
According to Israeli sources, the Palestinian militant organization Hamas has not yet provided a list of the names of the three hostages who are due to be released to Israel on Sunday.
“Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Without the list of names, Israel would not continue to implement the agreement ratified by its government early on Saturday, he warned.
Hamas sources said that the militia would submit the list with the names of the three hostages in the coming hours.
Under the agreement, Hamas must inform Israel 24 hours in advance of the names of the hostages being handed over. Three civilian women kidnapped from Israel are to be released first, Israeli media reported.
Later, Netanyahu said during a speech that Israel has retained “the right to return to fighting if necessary” if the planned ceasefire agreement fails.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire set to begin early Sunday
The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip agreed by Israel and Hamas is set to come into effect at 8:30 am (0630 GMT) on Sunday morning, mediator Qatar announced on Saturday, offering the prospect of peace after 15 months of conflict.
The official advised Gaza Strip residents to “take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official sources.”
Later, Israel’s military warned residents in the coastal strip not to approach areas where its troops will initially remain stationed.
A military spokesperson wrote on X on Saturday that approaching these areas, particularly the Netzarim Corridor which divides the coastal strip down the middle, poses significant danger.
Residents will be informed when it is safe to travel from the southern region to the north of Gaza, the statement added.
Netanyahu’s coalition government approved the ceasefire and hostage deal early on Saturday after long deliberations, following earlier backing from the security Cabinet.
Hope for hostages
The deal was announced on Wednesday, capping months-long efforts from the United States, Egypt and Qatar through indirect negotiations to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire and Hamas to release the hostages it is holding.
The three-phase agreement calls for an initial six-week pause in the fighting that has devastated the Gaza Strip over the past 15 months and, according to the Hamas health authority, killed more than 46,000 people in the Palestinian territory.
During this first phase, a total of 1,904 Palestinians are to be released from Israeli prisons and camps, the Israeli government announced. In return, Hamas is to release 33 out of 98 Israeli hostages during the six-week pause in fighting.
The prisoners set to be released are mainly considered to be Hamas fighters who were captured during the war in Gaza.
The other 737 Palestinians to be released were imprisoned for minor offences such as stone-throwing in the West Bank or illegal border crossing, illicit possession of weapons or other infractions.
However, this group also includes some Palestinians serving sentences for serious crimes such as murder, according to a list published by the Israeli Justice Ministry.
Next steps
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is due to reopen under the agreement, with humanitarian aid deliveries for the Palestinians to be significantly ramped up.
In May last year, Israel took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, in an operation that halted aid deliveries via the vital facility into the heavily populated coastal strip.
On Saturday, Egypt’s ministers of health and social solidarity inspected the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing with Gaza and a logistics area where about 600 aid trucks are stationed, local officials said.
Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghafar said Egypt is ready to receive the injured Palestinians leaving Gaza in the coming days.
The Israeli military is to withdraw from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
Those who fled to the south of the coastal strip should be able to move freely again and return to their former homes in northern Gaza, under international supervision.
The warring parties intend to clarify the details of the second and third phases of the agreement – aiming for a permanent end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip – during the first phase of the ceasefire.
However, it is unclear whether the deal will hold, given the deep mutual suspicion on both sides, with many details of the agreement still to be resolved.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed out of the coastal territory and killed some 1,200 people in southern Israeli communities.
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