Update:The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip began at 11:15 local time on Sunday. This occurred after the Hamas group provided Israel with the names of three hostages it plans to release today.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which was supposed to start at 8:30 AM on Sunday, began with a delay of nearly three hours.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to continue its fire until the Palestinian group reported the names of the three hostages to be released today.
Hamas provided Tel Aviv with the names of 30 hostages eligible for exchange out of 33, citing "technical difficulties." The radical group emphasized that it "confirms its commitments within the framework of the peace agreement."
As a result, the IDF continued its strikes on the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning. According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in the enclave, eight people were killed after 8:30 AM, when the ceasefire was supposed to begin.
At around 10:30 local time, Hamas announced that it had provided Tel Aviv with the names of the three hostages to be released on Sunday: Ronen Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28), and Doron Steinbrecher (31).
Israel confirmed that it received the list and is currently "verifying all details." Following this, the Netanyahu office responded that the ceasefire was in effect.
Deal
The ceasefire was intended to halt hostilities after 15 months of war and lead to the release of dozens of hostages held by militants in the Gaza Strip, as well as hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails.
The ceasefire agreement was reached with the mediation of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt during months of indirect negotiations between the warring parties.
As a result of the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, approximately 1,200 people were killed, and around 250 were taken captive. Almost 100 hostages remain in Gaza to this day, with estimates suggesting that at least one-third of them are dead.
Israel responded with an offensive on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of over 46,000 Palestinians. This data comes from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its statistics but claims that women and children make up more than half of the deceased.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the day before, Israel views the ceasefire with Hamas as temporary and reserves the right to resume hostilities if necessary. In an address to Israelis, he mentioned that he has the support of elected U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Israeli Prime Minister also noted Israel's military successes in Lebanon and Syria as reasons for Hamas agreeing to the ceasefire. "We have changed the face of the Middle East," Netanyahu said.
He emphasized that he managed to negotiate better terms even when the far-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir stated on Saturday that he and most members of his party would leave the government for the opposition.
Protests
Dozens of Israelis protested against the ceasefire agreement in Jerusalem on Saturday evening. They stated that Benjamin Netanyahu should resign and that the war should continue.
Many carried artificial coffins draped in the Israeli flag, as well as banners calling the ceasefire a "betrayal" of Israeli soldiers who died in the war.
Yehoshua Shin, whose son was killed fighting Hamas militants on October 7, criticized the deal for the release of Palestinians from prisons and urged elected U.S. President Donald Trump to cancel it until there is a "complete victory" over the Hamas militant group.
What does the agreement include?
The ceasefire was to consist of three phases. In the first phase, 33 hostages held by Hamas were to be released in exchange for 737 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, as well as over a thousand Palestinians detained during hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
IDF forces were also to withdraw east from densely populated areas, allowing thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their homes. Some have already begun to do so.
Additionally, there were plans to increase the delivery of aid to Gaza: 600 trucks were to enter the territory each day. On Friday, a long line of vehicles had formed on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
Although the details of the second and third phases were agreed upon in principle, negotiations to clarify the specifics were expected to take place during the six weeks of the first phase.
In the second phase, the remaining hostages were to be released, and Israeli troops were to completely withdraw from Gaza.
In the third phase, the bodies of those who died in captivity were to be handed over to Israel in exchange for a three-to-five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza, which would be implemented under international supervision.
In an interim report published in March of last year, the European Union, UN, and World Bank estimated the cost of rebuilding essential infrastructure in Gaza at $18.5 billion.
In October of last year, the UN Conference on Trade and Development warned that it could take 350 years for Gaza's economy to return to pre-war levels if the Israeli blockade of the territory remains in place.