Gaza ceasefire has come into effect, Israel says
The long-anticipated ceasefire deal has officially come into effect. The first three hostages to be released by Hamas have been named as Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, who were kidnapped from their kibbutz, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was taken from the Supernova Festival in October 2023. They are expected to be released later today.
“According to the plan for the release of the hostages, the ceasefire for phase one in Gaza will come into effect at 11:15 local time (09:15 GMT),” a statement from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office read.
The ceasefire deal comes in three stages. In the first stage of the ceasefire deal, 33 hostages are set to be released over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remainder are to be released in a second phase. The 98 hostages – some of whom are believed to be dead – include four people taken hostage in 2014 and 2015.
Key events
Qatar, which has been a key mediator in the ceasefire negotiations, has confirmed that the Gaza ceasefire has begun. Qatar, the US and Egypt will monitor the ceasefire deal through a body based in Cairo.
Gaza ceasefire has come into effect, Israel says
The long-anticipated ceasefire deal has officially come into effect. The first three hostages to be released by Hamas have been named as Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, who were kidnapped from their kibbutz, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was taken from the Supernova Festival in October 2023. They are expected to be released later today.
“According to the plan for the release of the hostages, the ceasefire for phase one in Gaza will come into effect at 11:15 local time (09:15 GMT),” a statement from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office read.
The ceasefire deal comes in three stages. In the first stage of the ceasefire deal, 33 hostages are set to be released over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remainder are to be released in a second phase. The 98 hostages – some of whom are believed to be dead – include four people taken hostage in 2014 and 2015.
More now on the resignation of Itamar Ben-Gvir, Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline national security minister. His departure does not come as a complete shock as he threatened last week he would quit the government if it ratified the ceasefire deal (which it ended up doing). He claimed it would “erase the achievements of the war” by releasing Palestinian militants and ceding territory in Gaza.
In a statement, Ben-Gvir’s party Jewish Power called the ceasefire deal a “capitulation to Hamas” and denounced what it called the “release of hundreds of murderers” and the “renouncing of the (Israeli military’s) achievements in the war” in Gaza. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu retains a slim majority in the Knesset – the Israeli parliament – despite the resignations.
Ben-Gvir last week urged far right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has described the deal as a “catastrophe”, to join him in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a ceasefire deal.
Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party threatened to quit the government if it did not go back to war to defeat Hamas after the first six-week phase of the ceasefire was completed.
Hamas releases names of first Israeli hostages to be freed
Bethan McKernan
Bethan McKernan, the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, has more information about the three Israeli female hostages to be freed later today as part of the ceasefire deal which has still not come into effect:
Hamas’s armed wing has released the names of the three living female hostages due to be returned home today – Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31. Steinbrecher was incorrectly named as “Shtanbar Khair” in the message delivered by al-Qassam’s Telegram channel. Israel has not yet confirmed the list given by Hamas.
Damari and Steinbrecher were abducted from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, while Gonen was taken from the Nova festival.
Video from 7 October 2023 shows that Damari was shot in the hand and the leg during the attack by Hamas.
Steinbrecher appeared in a hostage video released by Hamas in January last year. She appeared to be in a tunnel, and had lost a lot of weight.
There had been no signs of life from either Damari or Gonen since the day they were seized, although a hostage released in the week-long ceasefire in November 2023 told Gonen’s family that she was alive, but in bad condition.
Damari holds British citizenship, and her club, Tottenham Hotspur, came together with Arsena during the north London derby last week to honour her, releasing yellow balloons in the seventh minute of the game – the colour adopted by the hostages’ families.
Israel has received the names of the hostages to be released by Hamas today – official
An Israeli official has confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the names of the hostages to be released today (see post at 08.30) have been received.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire, which had been due to start at 0630 GMT, would not begin until Israel received the names.
Israel’s state X account has shared an image of who it says are the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal:
Names of Israeli hostages to be released on first day handed over – reports
Israel has received names of the hostages set to to be released on the first day of the ceasefire agreement, Israel’s principal mainstream news outlet, Channel 12, is reporting.
Hamas has said it is releasing these Israeli hostages today:
1- Romi Gonen (24)
2- Emily Damari (28)
3- Doron Steinbrecher (31)
The ceasefire deal, which has been approved by both sides following extensive mediation talks in Qatar, comes in three stages. The first six-week phase of the agreement will see more than 30 hostages – including women, children and elderly people – exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The releases will be staggered. On Sunday, three Israeli hostages are expected to be released, followed by four more on the seventh day, and again at the end of each week of the ceasefire.
It is still unclear when the ceasefire will begin. It was due to start at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT) but has been delayed. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, attributed the delay to a “technical” issue. The list of names of the Israeli hostages to be released was a major stumbling block so could mean the ceasefire coming into effect is imminent.
Israeli minister resigns from government over ceasefire deal
Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and two other ministers from his nationalist-religious party have resigned from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in protest over the Gaza ceasefire deal.
More details soon…
Deadly Israeli attacks in Gaza continue as hostage list dispute delays ceasefire
Lorenzo Tondo
Fighting continued in Gaza on Sunday morning past the time set for a ceasefire after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had failed to provide the names of three hostages it was due to release later in the day.
Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names of the hostages due to be released on Sunday on “technical field reasons” and that the names would be released “any minute”. It said in a statement that it was committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
The Hamas-run civil defence agency said eight people had been killed after the Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire was supposed to take effect this morning. Three Palestinians were killed in eastern Gaza City by Israeli drones, medics in the territory said on Sunday. The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had struck “terror targets” in northern and central Gaza.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement at the time the ceasefire was meant to take effect, that Hamas was not meeting its obligations and that Israel would continue to attack as long as Hamas did not meet its demands.
Three female hostages were expected to be released on Sunday afternoon through the Red Cross, in return for 30 Palestinian prisoners each.
The highly anticipated ceasefire would open the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.
Hamas official says list of hostages to be given ‘any moment’
As we have already mentioned, the ceasefire was due to come into effect at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT), but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the temporary truce ill not go ahead until Hamas provides the names of the first hostages it plans to release. AFP is now quoting a Hamas official saying that the list of hostages would be handed over “any moment”, but that “complexities” in Gaza and Israeli bombing were causing delays.
The official, who took part in the ceasefire negotiations, said at “any moment, the names of the three prisoners… will be handed over, but the complexities of the field situation and the continued bombing have delayed that”. We have not been able to independently verify this information.
Here are some of the latest images coming in from the Gaza area as the ceasefire deadline passed amid a dispute and Israeli strikes continued.
An Israeli official said the Gaza ceasefire deal was expected to go forward despite the delay in the start of the truce, Associated Press is reporting.
The official said on Sunday that the timing of the deal’s progress remained in question, but also that mediators had provided assurances that Hamas would deliver the list of hostages meant to be handed over by Hamas to Israel.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing efforts to resolve the matter.
The delay on the first day of the ceasefire has underscored the fragility of the internationally mediated deal.
Israeli strikes kills three in Gaza, say medics
Lorenzo Tondo
Al Araby TV has reported that the Israeli military is shooting at Palestinians trying to return to their home in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Three Palestinians were killed in eastern Gaza City by Israeli drones that opened fire, medics in the territory said on Sunday.
The Israeli military confirmed it was continuing to carry out attacks in the strip, adding it had struck “terror targets” in northern and central Gaza.
The strikes came as the ceasefire implementation was delayed with Israel accusing Hamas of not fulfilling its obligation to send Israel the list of hostages to be released on the first day.
Hamas said the delay problems were “technical”. According to some unofficial sources, there would be a problem of correspondence between the Israeli hostages to be released and the Palestinian prisoners to be freed.
Lorenzo Tondo
The deadline for the start of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, supposed to begin at 8.30 local time, has passed and the Israeli army continues to shell areas in the territory.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Hamas had not lived up to its commitment to provide the names of the three hostages it was set to release later in the day in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.
Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesman, said the army “continues to attack” and would until Hamas complied with the agreement. Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”.
In the vicinity of Gaza City and central Gaza, residents have reported hearing gunfire and explosions at several locations.
Al Jazeera is showing live images of Israeli bombings with columns of smoke rising from the affected areas.
An Israeli official said mediators had provided assurances that the list would be delivered and the deal was still expected to go forward, though the timing remains in question.
