The long-awaited Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into force at 09:15 GMT on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has announced on X. The truce, which was initially set to start three hours earlier, had been delayed due to Hamas’ failure to provide West Jerusalem with a list of hostages to be released later the same day as part of the first round of prisoner swaps.
Hamas attributed the delay in providing the list of names to “technical and field reasons.” Netanyahu’s office has confirmed it had received the list minutes before announcing the ceasefire.
The Israeli military continued operations in Gaza while awaiting the list. Gaza’s civil defense agency earlier reported that Israeli strikes killed at least nineteen people and injured more than 25 on Sunday morning.
Despite the delay in the ceasefire, thousands of Gazans took to the streets to celebrate and began returning to their homes.
Israel and Hamas reached a deal earlier this week to halt the 15-month conflict, which has resulted in numerous casualties and extensive destruction in Gaza. The agreement, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the US, will be implemented in three phases, with the initial stage lasting six weeks.
19 January 2025
14:51 GMT
Footage posted online shows images of Israeli military helicopters positioned and ready to receive the hostages being released from Gaza.
- 14:50 GMT
The IDF has announced that Israeli Air Force helicopters are prepared to transport the three Israeli hostages set to be released from Gaza, the Times of Israel reported. After an initial medical checkup at a military facility near the border, the helicopters will take them to hospitals for further care. Family members have sent personal items for them, which have been loaded on board the helicopters.
- 14:38 GMT
The Israeli military has reportedly paused its attacks on positions in Gaza, and Hamas has announced the names of three hostages set to be released. They are Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, according to media reports. Damari was born in Israel to an Israeli father and a British mother. She was reportedly abducted while at home in Kfar Aza near Israel’s southern border with Gaza. Gonen, from northern Israel was allegedly captured during the Supernova music festival, and Steinbrecher, a veterinary nurse who is an Israeli-Romanian dual national, was also reportedly kidnapped near the Israeli border on October 7, 2023.
- 13:58 GMT
The Palestinian government is scheduled to hold a meeting later on Sunday to coordinate plans for recovery and humanitarian efforts in Gaza, Palestinian news agency Wafa reports, citing Mohammed Abu al-Rob, the head of the government communications office. Representatives from the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Health, the water and energy authorities, and the Red Crescent Society are expected to take part in the meeting.
- 13:54 GMT
A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza has left to collect Israeli hostages from Hamas, Reuters reported, citing an official involved in the operation.
- 13:45 GMT
Pictures posted online show massive destruction in Rafah, in southern Gaza, as a result of IDF airstrikes over the past months.
- 13:41 GMT
Pope Francis has urged for the Gaza ceasefire to be “immediately respected,” expressing gratitude to the deal’s mediators, and calling on the international community to aid Israel and Palestine to “reach the right two-state solution.”
“Thanks to all the parties involved in this important outcome. I hope that, as agreed, it will be immediately respected by the parties and that all the hostages will finally be able to go home to hug their loved ones again,” he said in a statement.
“May everyone say yes to dialogue, yes to reconciliation, yes to peace,” he added.
- 13:35 GMT
The UN World Food Program has said on X that its aid trucks have started crossing into Gaza via the Zikim and Kerem Shalom crossings with Egypt. The trucks are loaded with flour and ready-to-eat food parcels.
“WFP aims to deliver food daily along humanitarian corridors that include Egypt, Jordan and Israel crossing points,” the agency said in the statement, which was accompanied by footage of the trucks crossing the border.
- 12:52 GMT
US President-elect Donald Trump has welcomed the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
“Hostages starting to come out today! Three wonderful young women will be first,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
- 12:52 GMT
The Israeli Prison Service has started transferring the Palestinian prisoners from their detention centers to Ofer prison, and the Red Cross will then transfer them to the West Bank, the Palestinian news outlet Al-Quds has reported, citing sources.
More
© 2025, paradox. All rights reserved.
