Families and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped in a deadly attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, are seen in Jerusalem on January 18, 2025, the day before the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect. Participated in a demonstration in support of.
Ammar Awad | Reuters
A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will take effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET, 1:30 a.m. GMT), mediator Qatar announced on Saturday, with a man held in Gaza As hostage families wait for news of their loved ones, humanitarian organizations scramble to expand aid to accommodate freed detainees as Palestinians gear up.
However, in a national address 12 hours before the start of the ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was treating the ceasefire as temporary and reserved the right to continue fighting if necessary. . He claimed to have the support of US President-elect Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Netanyahu also said Israel’s far-right Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir would negotiate the best possible deal, even though he and most members of his party opposed it and said he would resign from government. claimed to have done so.
The prime minister had earlier warned that a ceasefire would not proceed unless Israel received the names of the hostages to be released as agreed. His statement came almost three hours after Israel expected to receive the names from mediator Qatar. There was no immediate reaction from Qatar or Hamas.
A flurry of activity and new emotions as Israel’s cabinet approves a cease-fire deal overnight in an unusual meeting during the Jewish Sabbath, leaving relatives wondering whether the hostages will be returned alive or dead. waves were triggered.
The pause in the 15-month war is a step towards ending the deadliest and most destructive fighting ever between Israel and the militant group Hamas, and more than a year after the only ceasefire was reached. That’s true. The deal was reached ahead of Monday’s Inauguration Day and under joint pressure from President Trump and outgoing President Joe Biden.
The first phase of the ceasefire will last 42 days, with negotiations for the much more difficult second phase scheduled to begin in just over two weeks. Six weeks later, Israel’s security cabinet will decide how to proceed.
Israeli airstrikes continued on Saturday, and the Gaza Health Ministry said 23 bodies had been taken to hospitals in the past 24 hours.
“What is this ceasefire that kills us hours before it starts?” asked Abdallah al-Aqad, the brother of a woman killed in an airstrike in the southern city of Khan Yunis. Health officials said a couple and two children, ages 2 and 7, were killed.
Sirens rang throughout south-central Israel, and the military announced it had intercepted a projectile fired from Yemen. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Gaza Strip have stepped up attacks in recent weeks in what they claim is solidarity with Palestinians in the Strip.
Preparing for a ceasefire
In a post on X, Qatar’s foreign minister advised Palestinians and others to be cautious and wait for instructions from authorities when the ceasefire takes effect.
The Israeli military later announced that Palestinians would not be able to cross the Netzarim corridor, which runs through central Gaza, for the first seven days of the ceasefire and warned Palestinians to stay away from Israeli forces.
People were looking forward to returning home.
“The first thing we do is go and check the house,” said Mohamed Mahdi, a father of two who fled Gaza City’s Zaitoun district. He also said he was looking forward to seeing his family in southern Gaza, but “I’m still worried that one of us might be martyred before we meet.”
Majida Abu Jarad said she and her husband and six daughters moved seven times during the war, staying in tents, abandoned classrooms and on the streets following Israeli evacuation orders.
“We will remain in the tent, but the difference is that the bleeding will stop, the fear will stop, and we will be able to sleep in peace,” she said as she packed her things.
step by step plan
The first phase of the ceasefire will see the release of 33 Gaza hostages over six weeks in exchange for 737 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel’s Ministry of Justice published a list of prisoners, all of whom are young men or women. Groups representing victims of Palestinian attacks have said they will apply to the Israeli Supreme Court to halt the release.
According to the ceasefire plan approved by the Israeli Cabinet, the fighting will begin at 4pm on Sunday (4pm Japan time). According to the plan, three living female hostages will be returned on the first day, four on the seventh day, and the remaining 26 over the next five weeks. During each exchange, Palestinian prisoners are released by Israel after the hostages arrive safely.
1,167 Gaza residents who were not involved in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that sparked the war are also scheduled to be released. All women and children under the age of 19 in the Gaza Strip held by Israel will be released at this stage.
All Palestinian prisoners convicted of the deadly attack will be deported to Gaza or abroad, some for three years and some permanently, and barred from returning to Israel or the West Bank.
The remaining hostages in Gaza, including male soldiers, are expected to be released in the second phase following negotiations in the first phase. Hamas said it would not release the remaining prisoners unless there is a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal.
The first phase of the ceasefire also calls for Israeli forces to withdraw to a buffer zone about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) wide along the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel.
This will allow many displaced Palestinians to return to their homes, including in Gaza City and the largely isolated and devastated northern Gaza. With most of Gaza’s population sheltered in large, crude tent camps, Palestinians are desperately trying to return to their homeland, even though much of it is destroyed or badly damaged. There is.
Relief supplies ready to arrive
Food, medicine and other humanitarian aid should also surge in Gaza.
Egypt’s foreign minister said the Rafah crossing, the Gaza Strip’s main gateway to the outside world, would become operational “soon.” The crossing has been closed since Israeli forces took control of the area in May last year. The minister said 600 aid trucks, including 50 fuel trucks, will need to enter Gaza every day during the ceasefire period.
The ceasefire plan approved by the Israeli cabinet states that all trucks entering Gaza will be subject to Israeli inspection.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Saturday: “It is clear that the situation in Gaza remains very complex and many challenges remain to effective distribution.”
The Hamas-led attack on October 7 left around 1,200 people dead and around 250 captured. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
Israel fought back, killing more than 46,000 Palestinians, local health officials said. Officials do not distinguish between civilians and militants, but say more than half of the dead are women and children.
