After a long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the first phase of the truce has begun after an almost three-hour delay, as Hamas is set to release three Israeli hostages later on Sunday.
The ceasefire, which was due to start at 08:30 a.m. (06:30 GMT), was halted due to technical reasons as stated by Hamas. Earlier, on this delay, Israel said Hamas had not delivered the names of the first hostages to be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, as reported by the BBC.
Later, the office of Prime Minister of Israel confirmed that a list of names had been provided and that the ceasefire would take effect from 11:15 a.m. local time.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the office of Prime Minister of Israel posted, “Pursuant to the framework for the release of the hostages, the ceasefire of the first stage in Gaza will take effect at 11:15.”
Pursuant to the framework for the release of the hostages, the ceasefire of the first stage in Gaza will take effect at 11:15.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 19, 2025
In a tweet, it posted that Israel has received the list of the hostages who are due to be released today and the security establishment is now checking the details.
Israel has received the list of the hostages who are due to be released today according to the framework. The security establishment is now checking the details.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 19, 2025
According to the details, Hamas has named three hosatges to be released. It includes, Romi Gonen, 24, who was ambushed while trying to escape the Supernova Festival, as reported by The Times of India. Another one is 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, who is a Romanian citizen. The third one is the British national Emily Damari (28).
Now, the families in Israel wait for the release of hostages who have been held by Hamas for more than 15 months.
