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.
A long-sought ceasefire for Gaza, where Israel has been waging a powerful military campaign for the past 15 months, was due to start at 8:30am local time today.
But barely an hour before the ceasefire was set to begin, Mr Netanyahu reiterated a warning first issued yesterday that the deal wouldn’t go ahead without a list of hostages.
Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons.” It said in a statement that it is committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
The agreement was agreed by Israel’s cabinet on Friday night after a breakthrough in negotiations mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt was announced on Wednesday.
In its first stage, the deal would see 33 of the 98 hostages freed over the course of six weeks. About half of the 98 are believed to be alive.
The remainder are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first.
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Between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released in exchange, depending on the number of hostages freed.
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