The Gaza ceasefire which was due to start at 6.30am today has been delayed – with Israel blaming Hamas for not providing a list of the hostages up for release. Hamas said the delay in disclosing the names was due to “technical field reasons”.
Sunday 19 January 2025 07:44, UK
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Large plumes of smoke have been rising over northern Gaza amid reports from the IDF that they are carrying out strikes.
The Israeli military said earlier they had struck “terror targets” in northern and central Gaza and were “continuing to operate” in the region.
Sirens have also been sounding in communities near the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said.
After 470 days of war, the truce that was set to come in place between Israel and Hamas at 6.30am this morning has been delayed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the truce would not begin until Hamas provided a list of the hostages who were to be released during the day.
Hamas said the delay was due to “technical” reasons.
Here, our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall looks at why the deal has been delayed…
Reports are coming through from the Israel military that the IDF have struck “terror targets” in northern and central Gaza this morning.
In a statement, the IDF said it was “continuing to operate and strike terror targets in the Gaza Strip”.
“A short while ago, IDF artillery and aircraft struck a number of terror targets in northern and central Gaza,” the military said.
“The IDF remains ready in defence and offence and will not allow any harm to the citizens of Israel.”
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has said that the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was delayed as Hamas had not fulfilled its obligation to send Israel the list of hostages to be released on the first day.
As the scheduled time for the ceasefire to start at 6.30am passed, Israeli tanks continued to shell areas in Gaza.
And in a brief televised address, Hagari said the government had directed the military to delay implementation and that it retained freedom to continue attacks in the Gaza Strip as long as the ceasefire had not taken effect.
Hagari said the military was completely ready to implement the ceasefire but it was also ready to act in case Hamas broke the terms of the deal.
As we wait for more news on the ceasefire deal, earlier today reports came through that Israeli forces had started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, according to pro-Hamas media.
What is the Philadelphi corridor?
The Philadelphi corridor is a strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt, including the Rafah crossing.
Spanning nine miles (14km) in length and 100 metres wide it was introduced as a demilitarised border zone after the withdrawal of Israeli settlements and troops from Gaza in 2005.
Before 2005, a 1979 treaty with Egypt allowed it to have a limited number of troops in the corridor but no heavy armour.
After 2005 it became the responsibility of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.
Hundreds of Egyptian police were stationed there to prevent weapons smuggling, until Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.
In May 2024, it was seized by Israel as its Gaza ground offensive pushed into Rafah.
However, Egypt continues to be against a major Israeli military presence on the border.
Smoke is rising over Gaza this morning after Israel said a ceasefire due to take effect this morning will not happen.
Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire will not go ahead until Israel has received a list of the hostages set to be released from Hamas.
Officials knew there would be “hiccups” along the way in this ceasefire deal, our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall says.
He says there had been reports in recent days that Israeli military was starting to withdraw from Gaza.
“Those preparations were already in place on the Israeli side of things,” he says.
“I know in previous days officials knew there would be hiccups.
“They were sanguine about the fact that this first phase would have problems along the way.”
Bunkall says the Israeli military will remain in Gaza but over a phased period.
While we wait to see if a ceasefire agreement comes into effect this morning, there is still a long way until all its steps are complete.
You may hear a lot about “phases” when it comes to the ceasefire – as this complicated deal is structured in three stages.
Here is what we know about that…
Phase One
In this first stage, 33 hostages are to be set free over the course of six weeks.
These include all women (including female soldiers), children and men over the age of 50.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel will free between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Phase Two
Negotiations over a second phase of the agreement will begin on the sixteenth day of phase one and are expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, including male Israeli soldiers.
There would also be a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Phase Three
The third and final stage involves the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies.
This task that will be supervised by Egypt, Qatar and the UN.
Hamas has said a delay in disclosing the names of hostages to be released in the first phase is due to “technical field reasons”.
The group has affirmed its commitment to the Gaza ceasefire deal scheduled for today, saying a delay in disclosing the names of hostages to be released in first phase was due to “technical field reasons”.
What has happened?
As we reported earlier, Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ceasefire in Gaza will not begin until Israel has received a list of the hostages set to be released from Hamas.
With barely an hour before the ceasefire was set to begin, Netanyahu reiterated a warning first issued yesterday that the deal wouldn’t go ahead without a list of three female hostages due to be released today.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said a ceasefire in Gaza due to take effect this morning will not happen if Hamas fails to issue the list of the hostages up for release.
“The prime minister instructed the IDF that the ceasefire, which is supposed to go into effect at 8.30am (6.30am UK time), will not begin until Israel has the list of released abductees that Hamas has pledged to provide,” his office said.
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