Israel Ceasefire in Gaza war begins with delay
The ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip has begun hours late. It came into force at 10.15 a.m. CET, as announced by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hamas had sent the list with the names of three hostages to be released today. The ceasefire should actually have begun at 7.30 a.m. CET. However, as Hamas had not communicated the names of the hostages by then, the army initially continued its attacks.
19.01.2025, 10:19
SDA
Israel and Hamas had agreed on an initial 42-day ceasefire mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the USA. During this time, 33 of the 98 Israeli hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip are to be exchanged for 1,904 imprisoned Palestinians. The first phase of the agreement also provides for a rapid improvement in the supply of food for the more than two million inhabitants of Gaza, 90 percent of whom suffer from hunger according to UN figures. In addition, the Israeli army must withdraw from population centers in the Gaza Strip.
Three hostages to be released today
All of the hostages are Israelis who also have German citizenship. It is assumed in Israel that 34 of the kidnapped hostages are presumed dead. According to the Israeli government, the release of the first three hostages is planned for today at 15:00 CET. According to Israeli sources, these are three civilian women.
Around the same time, the first 90 or so Palestinian prisoners are to be released in Israel and taken by security forces either to the occupied West Bank or to Gaza. It remains unclear whether the timetable will be adhered to due to the delayed start of the ceasefire.
Israeli police minister resigns over hostage deal
In protest against the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, Israel's far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has resigned, according to media reports. His Otzma Yehudit party, which holds six out of 120 seats in the Knesset, is also leaving the governing coalition. However, the right-wing religious government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not lose its majority in parliament. It still has 62 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.
More attacks by Israel in Gaza
While Israel waited for the list with the names of the three hostages, the army continued. Artillery and the air force attacked a number of "terror targets" in the north and center of the sealed-off coastal strip, the army announced. According to the Hamas-controlled civil defense, 13 people were killed in the entire coastal strip. The information could not be independently verified. The army did not initially comment on this.
The war was triggered by the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed in Israel and more than 250 were deported to Gaza. Israel responded with attacks on Hamas in which, according to Palestinian figures, more than 46,700 people were killed. The figure, which cannot be independently verified, does not distinguish between civilians and fighters. On the eve of the ceasefire, Netanyahu had reiterated that Israel would resume fighting if the agreement failed and would enforce all war aims, including the complete destruction of Hamas.
