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A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that was due to take effect on Sunday morning has been postponed after Hamas failed to provide the names of hostages due to be released later in the day for what it said were “technical reasons”.
The six-week ceasefire – the first phase of a multi-phase deal that would halt fighting in Gaza and pave the way for the release of hostages still being held in the enclave by the Palestinian militant group – was due to take effect at 8.30am. local time (06.30 GMT).
But in an indication of the fragility of the deals, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said shortly before the ceasefire took effect that it would not begin until Hamas gave Israel a list of the three hostages to be released on Sunday.
In a brief statement minutes later, Hamas said the delay in providing the names was due to “technical reasons on the ground” without elaborating, but insisted it remained committed to the deal.
As the deadline for the ceasefire passed and spontaneous celebrations spread across Gaza, where many displaced people were preparing to return to their homes, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israel would continue its attacks until Hamas provided the names .
Soon after, the army said it had struck targets in northern and central Gaza. The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported shelling and explosions in multiple locations in the enclave and said nine people had been killed.
If the ceasefire is implemented as originally planned, Hamas will later on Sunday release three of the 98 hostages it still holds in Gaza. In exchange, Israel will release 90 Palestinian prisoners.
The multi-phase deal offers the hope of a halt – and potentially an end – to the bloodiest war in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has left Gaza in ruins, consumed Israeli society and brought the Middle East to the brink -inflated war.
The fighting was sparked by Hamas’s shocking attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which the militants killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and took 250 hostages in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Israel responded with a devastating attack on Gaza that has killed more than 46,000 people, according to Palestinian officials, displaced most of the coastal enclave’s 2.3 million residents and sparked a humanitarian disaster.
After more than half a year of failed efforts to broker a cease-fire, mediators announced last week that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a three-phase deal, which was first floated by US President Joe Biden in May. past.
The first phase involves a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas will release a total of 33 hostages – including children, women, the sick and the elderly – in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
During the first phase of the deal, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to their homes, including northern Gaza. There will also be a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a massive influx of humanitarian aid to the enclave.
If the deal is implemented as planned, by the 16th day of the first phase, Israel and Hamas will begin negotiations on the details of the second phase of the deal, during which the remaining hostages will be released alive in exchange for hundreds of prisoners. other Palestinians. the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a permanent end to the war.
The final phase will include the return of the remaining bodies of the hostages who have died, as well as the start of the reconstruction of Gaza, under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the UN.
However, there are doubts whether the deal will be fully implemented, with Netanyahu under intense pressure from far-right members of his coalition to resume fighting at the end of the first phase of the deal.
On Saturday evening, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said his Jewish Power party would quit the government in protest against the deal, reducing Netanyahu’s majority in Israel’s 120-seat parliament to just two. places.
Ben-Gvir’s ultranationalist ally, finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, has also threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if fighting does not resume after the first phase of the deal. If he were to do so, it would deprive Netanyahu of his parliamentary majority.
