A long-awaited ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war was delayed on Sunday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the last minute that it would not take effect until the Palestinian militant group provided a list of the hostages to be released.
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Hamas, while “affirming its commitment” to the terms of the ceasefire, said: “The delay in providing the names of those to be released in the first batch is due to technical reasons.”
A statement from Netanyahu’s office, issued less than an hour before the truce was to start at 8.30am, said he had “instructed the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) that the ceasefire … will not begin until Israel has received the list”.
Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement that, “The IDF continues to strike within the Gaza area at this time. According to the prime minister’s directives, the ceasefire will not come into effect until Hamas fulfils its commitments.”
The initial exchange was to see three Israeli hostages released from captivity in return for a first group of Palestinian prisoners.
If the ceasefire goes ahead, a total of 33 hostages taken by militants during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel will be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce.
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