UK prime minister Keir Starmer has hailed Hamas’s release of three hostages including British citizen Emily Damari.
In a statement on Sunday, Starmer said:
“The release of three hostages today is wonderful and long-overdue news after months of agony for them and their families. Among them is British citizen Emily Damari, who will now be reunited with her family, including her mother Amanda who has never stopped her tireless fight to bring her daughter home.
I wish them all the very best as they begin the road to recovery after the intolerable trauma they have experienced. We stand ready to offer assistance and support.
However, today also represents another day of suffering for those who haven’t made it home yet - so while this ceasefire deal should be welcomed, we must not forget about those who remain in captivity under Hamas.
We must now see the remaining phases of the ceasefire deal implemented in full and on schedule, including the release of those remaining hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The UK stands ready to do everything it can to support a permanent and peaceful solution.”
French president Emmanuel Macron told Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas that a return to Palestinian governance was needed in Gaza following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Agence France-Presse reports.
According to Macron’s office, Macron told Abbas in a phone call on Sunday that this should “fully incorporate the Palestinian Authority” and that Gaza’s future should be aimed at the creation of a Palestinian state.
Macron added that “no massacre, like the one perpetrated on October 7 [2023] can ever be committed against the Israeli people again.”
The IDF has confirmed the names of the three hostages who were released by Hamas on Sunday evening.
The names of the hostages, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher, match earlier reports of the list of hostages that Hamas was set to release today.
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UN Women has released a statement in response to the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, calling it news that “brings relief for the 1 million women and children” in Gaza who have been subjected to Israeli attacks over the last 15 months.
The UN organization said:
UN Women welcomes the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, including the hostage release deal, which went into effect today.
We join the Secretary-General in expressing hope that all parties will honor their commitments to ensure this agreement paves the way for a lasting peace for women and girls in Palestine, Israel, and the region. The news of the ceasefire brings relief for the 1 million women and girls who have lived under continued bombardment, without safety in Gaza for the last 470 days. The news of the initial release of hostages brings immense relief to them and their families. The ceasefire agreement marks a crucial step towards stability and peace.
Urgent humanitarian relief is needed throughout Gaza to alleviate the immense suffering. The conflict has caused death and destruction on an unprecedented scale for everyone in Gaza, with women and girls suffering from specific gendered vulnerabilities throughout it. Women have been at the forefront of humanitarian responses and community action, serving as primary caregivers, heads of households, and leaders in their communities.”
Three hostages now in Israeli territory, IDF says
Israel’s military says the three hostages are now in Israeli territory.
“A short while ago, accompanied by IDF and ISA forces, the released hostages crossed the border into Israeli territory,” the IDF said.
“The released hostages are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment.”
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Joe Biden said that he was pleased to have his and Donald Trump’s teams “speak as one voice in the final days” of the ceasefire deal finalization.
Biden said the dialogue was “both necessary and effective and unprecedented.”
He added that success in the region is going to “require persistence and continuing support for our friends in the region, and the belief in diplomacy backed by deterrence.”
Joe Biden is currently delivering a statement on the ceasefire deal.
“I’ve worked in foreign policy for decades, and this is one of the toughest negotiations I’ve been part of,” Biden said.
He went on to add: “Now the region has been fundamentally transformed. Hamas’s longtime leader, [Yahya] Sinwar is dead. Hamas sponsors in the Middle East have been badly weakened by Israel, backed by the United States. Hezbollah, one of Hamas’ biggest backers, was significantly weakened on the battlefield as the leadership was destroyed…”
Three hostages being escorted by IDF back to Israel
Israeli forces have received the three female hostages who are now being escorted back to Israel under protection from security forces and an “elite” unit from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). They are the first returned in this first phase of the ceasefire deal, which should last for 42 days. Hamas said in a statement earlier that Doron Steinbrecher, 31, Emily Damari, 28, and Romi Gonen, 24 would be the first hostages to be returned as part of the deal.
In a statement on X, the IDF wrote:
The three returnees are now being escorted by an elite IDF unit and Shin Bet security force on their way back to Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical evaluation.
IDF commanders and soldiers salute and embrace the returnees on their way to Israel.
The first stage of the ceasefire agreement should see a total of 33 hostages returning from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released.
We are expecting 90 Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli prisons in return for the three Israeli hostages later today. It is not clear exactly what time they will be released.
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Here are some images coming through the newswires from the hostage release:
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Release of Israeli hostages happening now - officials
The release of the three female Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas is happening now, it has been confirmed by officials and the Israeli military.
“The three women hostages were officially handed over to the Red Cross at al-Saraya Square in the al-Rimal neighbourhood in western Gaza City,” a senior Hamas official told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency. “This occurred after a member of the Red Cross team met with them and ensured their well-being,” the official added. The Red Cross are expected to hand the three women to the Israeli military to be taken out of the Gaza Strip and then reunited with their families.
In the Israeli occupied West Bank, buses were awaiting the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention. Hamas said the first group to be freed in exchange for the hostages includes 69 women and 21 teenage boys.
The three hostages were named earlier as: Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doren Steinbrecher, 31, who were all abducted on 7 October 2023 during Hamas’s attack on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage. Around 100 hostages still remain in Gaza, after the rest were released or their bodies recovered.
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Handover of Israeli hostages to ICRC underway - Hamas official
A handover of the three female Israeli hostages (named earlier as Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari) to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is underway, a Hamas official has just told Reuters. We have not verified this information yet.
The Red Cross says that the hostages were transferred to them and are en route toward Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Securities Authority (ISA) forces in the Gaza Strip.
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President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, has been asked about the ceasefire negotiation on CBS’ Face the Nation programme.
He said Hamas, the Palestinian militant group which has controlled Gaza for almost two decades, will “never govern Gaza (again)”, describing such a situation as “unacceptable”.
“If Hamas reneges on this deal and Hamas backs out, moves the goalpost, what have you, we will support Israel in doing what it has to do,” he added.
The Israeli military, claiming it was routing out terrorists, launched an offensive in the southern city of Rafah in May last year, despite international warnings of the devastating humanitarian impact it would have. A million people who sought shelter in Rafah, after fleeing fighting or after their homes were destroyed, turned the small city of 300,000 into a sprawling, overcrowded encampment.
Over 150,000 Palestinians fled Israeli bombardments after receiving orders from the IDF to do so. Some of these people have began returning to the city – even before the ceasefire came into effect this morning:
Updated
As we have been reporting throughout the afternoon, thousands of displaced Palestinians are on their way home to the areas they were forced to flee in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli airstrikes and repeated forced evacuation orders during the 15 month war. Here is an extract from a piece, centred on Palestinian reaction to the ceasefire announcement, written by my colleagues Malak A Tantesh and Jason Burke:
“I feel very beautiful. We hope that God will complete this joy and that we return to our homes and lands safely. This is the most beautiful joy in the world, thank God,” said Moaz Qirqiz, 46.
“The most beautiful moment will be when we meet the loved ones in north Gaza and when we stand on the soil of our land and our homes even if they were destroyed. These minutes, I feel that I am the happiest person in the world, even though I lost my closest brother and lost my home and all the homes of my family.” Qirqiz has been living with his family near the central town of Deir al-Balah after being displaced early in the conflict from his home in northern Gaza.
Like many others, Qirqiz, who ran an electrical appliance store in the northern town of Jabaliya, where there have been intensive recent bombardments and clashes, said he was worried the ceasefire would break down.
“I am afraid that things will turn upside down and that we will return to what we were like during the war and return to the suffering of loss and destruction once again,” he said.
Palestinians celebrate and head back to their hometowns in Gaza after the ceasefire came into effect. pic.twitter.com/wNRkv9ypHD
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 19, 2025
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer has said that “both Trump and Biden have given full backing to Israel’s right to return to the fighting if it reaches the conclusion that the second stage of negotiations is ineffectual.”
Mencer said, however, that Israel wants “all stages” of the phased ceasefire deal to come into effect, according to an update from the Associated Press. Negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase are to start just over two weeks into the first phase that has now started.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in a separate statement reiterated that Israel won’t stop the war until everyone returns home. He added that “we will take care to maintain the buffer zones and respond forcefully to any violation and threat.” Israeli forces are withdrawing to buffer zones inside Gaza in the first phase.
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has said it is important the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has finally been implemented and that the remaining hostages are released.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting in the city of Schwalbach, Scholz said the release of hostages held by Hamas “should be used for a peaceful development, a perspective in which a Palestinian state can coexist peacefully with Israel.”
Team on way to collect Israeli hostages from Hamas - reports
A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza is on its way to collect Israeli hostages from Hamas, an official involved in the operation has told Reuters.
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A spokesperson for the family of Emily Damari, a British-Israeli hostage due to be released by Hamas today, has spoken of the agony they have suffered since 7 October.
“These final few hours have been the most agonising that you can imagine, after nearly 500 days of unending torment for Mandy and all the other families,” Emily Cohen, the spokesperson, said.
“Obviously this is amazing news for Mandy and Emily’s entire family, but she will only believe it when she actually gets to see Emily alive and give her that hug she’s been dreaming of. Being so close to that moment makes the pain even more intense.
“As a mother, seeing how Mandy has campaigned tirelessly for Emily for the past 471 days has been utterly inspiring.
“I cannot begin to explain how brave and fearless she has been fighting for her daughter, pressuring world leaders and international organisations relentlessly and constantly.
“Given how unbearable the last few hours have been and the rollercoaster of emotions, please respect Mandy’s privacy at this very critical time.
“I know she wants everyone to know how deeply grateful she is to the British public, MPs, football supporters and strangers from around the world, who have been praying and campaigning for Emily’s release.”
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World Food Programme aid trucks cross into Gaza
The World Food Programme says its aid trucks have begun crossing into Gaza via the Zikim and Kerem Shalom crossings. The agency says its trucks are carrying wheat flour and ready-to-eat food parcels.
In a statement, the WFP says it “aims to deliver food daily along humanitarian corridors that include Egypt, Jordan and Israel crossing points. This ceasefire is critical for the humanitarian response. Safety, and access must be ensured.”
The WFO, a UN humanitarian organisation, has called for all border crossings to open in order for it to safely move food into Gaza. It has called for security teams for its members and convoys. “We need more humanitarian staff allowed into Gaza,” it says. “And we need urgent funding to reach everyone in need, quickly.”
Summary
The time is 3:15 in Israel and Gaza. Here are the latest developments:
The much anticipated ceasefire, which comes in three phases, began at 11:15 local time (9:15 GMT) after a nearly three-hour delay.
Hamas blamed “technical reasons” for the delay, but subsequently released the names of the three hostages it says will be the first to be freed: Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, who were kidnapped from their kibbutz, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was taken from the Supernova Festival in October 2023.
The Palestinian civil emergency service said Israeli military airstrikes killed at least 13 Palestinian people in attacks across the Gaza Strip during the delay.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said this morning that the release of three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would take place after 1400 GMT on Sunday.
In a statement, it also said four other living female hostages would be freed in seven days.There are scenes of jubilation across the strip as thousands of Palestinians start returning home.
Several hundred aid delivery trucks, including 20 carrying fuel, began arriving at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing before entry into the Gaza as part of an agreed humanitarian surge for the strip’s 2.3 million residents.
Israeli forces have started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, according to reports.
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s party announced it was leaving the country’s ruling coalition in protest at what it called the “scandalous” Gaza ceasefire agreement. Benjamin Netanyahu’s slim majority remains intact.
The far right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, called on Israel to occupy the Gaza Strip and install a military government, threatening to overthrow the government if this does not happen. He has said he will not remain in a government that stops the war.
You can read our latest report about the ceasefire negotiations here.
Updated
The Palestinian government is scheduled to hold a major meeting this evening to coordinate plans to streamline the recovery and humanitarian efforts in Gaza that are hoped to be implemented under the ceasefire agreement. The following is from a report by Palestinian news agency Wafa which goes into detail about the meeting:
Key ministries involved include the ministry of social development, ministry of public works, ministry of local government, ministry of health, the water and energy authorities, as well as the Red Crescent Society.
Mohammed Abu al-Rob, director of the government communications office, confirmed in a statement to Wafa that the meeting aims to enhance coordination between the government and international relief agencies, particularly regarding emergency response operations in the region.
He emphasised ongoing efforts between the ministry of public works and the United Nations development programme (UNDP) to begin the first phase of rubble removal in vital areas of Gaza, in collaboration with local authorities.
Abu al-Rob also discussed the critical cooperation between the ministry of health and international health organisations operating in Gaza. The goal is to bolster the capacity of health institutions to provide urgent medical care to the tens of thousands of injured individuals.
Further, he emphasised the role of the ministry of social development and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in distributing aid, noting that the ministry is set to receive several shipments of humanitarian supplies from the Red Crescent. These shipments will be distributed to eligible families based on the ministry’s national registry, which identifies those most in need.
In addition, the government has instructed the water and energy authorities to expand efforts to repair the main water connections and introduce fuel shipments to operate water pumping stations. This will ensure the supply of drinking water and the proper handling of wastewater to prevent contamination in residential areas.
Celebrations erupt in Gaza as ceasefire comes into effect – video
Here is a video of Palestinian people celebrating in the streets of central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah as the much-anticipated ceasefire deal came into effect this morning:
Israeli finance minister says he’ll 'overthrow the government' if Israel doesn’t occupy Gaza
The far right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is the head of the Religious Zionist Party, has reportedly called on Israel to occupy the Gaza Strip and install a military government, threatening to overthrow the government if this does not happen.
Israel “must occupy Gaza and create a temporary military government because there is no other way to defeat Hamas,” he was quoted as having told Israel’s Army Radio.
“I will overthrow the government if it does not return to fighting in a way that [leads to us] taking over the entire Gaza Strip and governing it,” he said, adding that Israel would provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza in that scenario. Smotrich has called the Gaza ceasefire agreement a “very serious mistake” and a “surrender to Hamas”.
On Thursday, Smotrich’s party said in a statement that its condition for remaining in the government would be a return to fighting at the end of the first phase of the deal, in order to destroy Hamas and bring all the hostages back.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become more reliant on the support of Smotrich and other far-right elements of his coalition government since the former defence minister Benny Gantz quit Israel’s emergency war cabinet last summer in a row over strategy in the war on Gaza and how to bring home Israeli hostages. Netanyahu has said previously that he does not want to permanently occupy the Gaza Strip.
Earlier today, far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced his Otzma Yehudit party’s withdrawal from Netanyahu’s fragile coalition after the ceasefire announcement, meaning the coalition goes on with 62 parliamentary seats in the 120-seat Knesset.
Updated
Charities cautiously optimistic as first aid trucks enter Gaza under ceasefire agreement
There are hopes that the ceasefire will help to, at least partly, ease the dire humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s war on Gaza, with widespread shortages of food, medicine and clean water across the strip. Displaced by Israeli airstrikes, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people have been packed into crowded refugee camps along the coast, enduring cold winter weather amid widespread malnutrition. Aid groups have struggled to deliver food and supplies and say there are shortages of blankets, warm clothing and firewood.
About 200 aid delivery trucks, including 20 carrying fuel, began arriving on Sunday at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing ahead of entry into the Gaza Strip, two Egyptian sources have told Reuters.
The first trucks of supplies started entering the strip minutes after the ceasefire took effect on Sunday morning, UN aid official Jonathan Whittall, interim chief of the UN’s OCHA aid agency for the Palestinian territories, wrote in a post on X.
“A massive effort has been underway over the past days from humanitarian partners to load and prepare to distribute a surge of aid across all of Gaza,” he wrote.
Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) charities – such as actionaid and Oxfam – are cautiously “hopeful” they can increase aid in Gaza following the news of the ceasefire this morning. It says the scale of the humanitarian challenge is “overwhelming”, with the delivery of food, medical care and shelter being the immediate priorities.
Some bakeries, hospitals and other essential facilities that were forced to close during the war will soon reopen, and with fewer restrictions on movement within the strip, essential services such as water trucking and medical care can be expanded, the DEC said in a press release.
Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC, said:
After so many months of suffering caused by this conflict, we hope this ceasefire can provide some relief to millions of people whose lives have been devastated. DEC member charities and their local partners are hopeful it will provide them with a vital chance to scale up their programmes in Gaza and reach many more people in need.
People are living in unbearably harsh conditions without access to the basic supplies they need to survive. The generous donations by the UK public to the Middle East Humanitarian appeal have already enabled our member charities and their local partners to reach some of the most vulnerable with support, and with increased aid access they could do so much more. Please donate now.
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Hamas says Israel will submit list of 90 Palestinian prisoners to be freed on Sunday
Hamas said Israel is set to hand over a list with the names of 90 Palestinian prisoners to be released later today in exchange for three Israeli female hostages held by the militant group in Gaza. In a statement, Hamas said the prisoners included women and children.
“The occupation is expected to hand over shortly a list containing the names of 90 prisoners from the categories of women and children who are set to be released on the first day of the ceasefire,” Hamas said, adding the truce deal stipulated “the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one civilian detainee”.
Death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza reaches 46,913, says health ministry
At least 46,913 Palestinian people have been killed and 110,750 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
The death toll does not include Palestinians killed by Israeli forces overnight or from Sunday morning before the ceasefire came into effect.
Gaza’s health ministry has said in the past that thousands of other dead people are most likely lost in the rubble of the territory.
Updated
As we have already mentioned, Hamas has named the three female hostages it will release today as Emily Damari, 28, Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and Romi Gonen, 24.
Damari is the only remaining British citizen still being held in Gaza. She is a dual UK citizen. Her and Steinbrecher were taken hostage from their homes in the Kibbutz Kfar Aza on 7 October, 2023, when Hamas led attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people. According to the Times of Israel, they lived in the kibbutz’s “young generation” neighbourhood — out of the 37 residents there, 11 people were reportedly killed and seven others abducted and taken to Gaza. You can read more about the three female hostages here.
The BBC’s Lucy Manning has spoken to a “source” close to the Damari family. They said:
All Emily’s mum Mandy wants to do is hug Emily. But she won’t believe it until she sees it. It’s been a torturous 471 days, but a particularly torturous 24 hours.
Until she’s out and Mandy can actually see that she’s out ... It hasn’t happened until it happens. It’s not done until it’s done. And there’s a long road ahead.
They’ve no idea what condition they are in, and there are other hostages who need to be released and need humanitarian aid to be kept alive. It’s a long, long road ahead.
Mandy is very grateful for all the love and support, advocacy and prayers. They are pleading with people to respect the family’s privacy. It’s an extremely sensitive time.
It’s an absolute blessing Doron Steinbrecher and Emily are both on the list because the mums are best friends.
Updated
More details on first and second stages of ceasefire deal
Israeli forces have reportedly already started withdrawing from areas in the southern city of Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza. We have not been able to independently verify this information yet.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israel is supposed to begin withdrawing from “urban areas” in the territory immediately. Here is a timeline of what is expected to happen on specific days over the next couple of months:
Stage 1
Sunday 19 January (day 1): Phase one begins. Three hostages to return, about 95 Palestinians to be released from prison (those from Gaza taken back, those from West Bank dropped off in Ramallah, serious offenders to be deported to a third country).
Sunday 26 January (day 7). Four hostages to return. More Palestinians released.
Sunday 2 February (day 14). Four hostages to return, more Palestinians released, more withdrawal by Israeli forces from the Netzarim corridor, separating what was once the densely populated Gaza City from the rest of the strip.
Tuesday 4 February (day 16). Negotiations thrashing out details of Stage II to begin.
Sunday 9 February (day 21). Three hostages to return, Palestinians released, more withdrawal from the Netzarim corridor.
Monday 10 February (day 22). Access to north allowed via Salah al Din road too (the main road crossing the length of Gaza).
Sunday 16 February (day 28). Three more hostages to return, more Palestinians released.
Sunday 23 February (day 35). Three more hostages to return, more Palestinians released.
Sunday 2 March (day 42). 14 hostages to return, more Palestinians released. Rafah due to reopen - all injured and sick Palestinian civilians to be allowed to leave; 50 injured fighters a day allowed to leave.
Stage 2
Sunday 9 March (day 50. Israeli withdrawal from Philadephi supposed to be completed.
Updated
How will the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal work?
Here are the main elements of the ceasefire deal, as outlined by my colleague Bethan McKernan. You can read her explainer about the agreement and whether or not it is likely to lead to a permanent ceasefire here.
What’s in the deal?
All fighting is to pause during the first 42-day phase. Israeli forces are to withdraw from Gaza’s cities to a “buffer zone” along the edge of the strip, displaced Palestinians will be able to return home and there will be a marked increase in aid deliveries.
In the second stage, of unclear duration, the remaining living hostages will be returned and a corresponding ratio of Palestinian prisoners freed, alongside a complete Israeli withdrawal from the strip. The Rafah crossing to Egypt will be opened for the sick and wounded to leave. It is unclear whether it will be returned to Palestinian control.
The third phase, which could last years, would address the exchange of bodies of deceased hostages and Hamas members, and a reconstruction plan for Gaza. Much of the international community has advocated for the semi-autonomous West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007, to return to the strip. Israel, however, has repeatedly rejected the suggestion.
How will stage one work?
A total of 33 hostages will be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for about 1,700 Palestinians held in Israel prisons, about 1,000 of whom are from Gaza and were arrested after 7 October 2023 under emergency legislation which allowed detention without charge or trial.
Three female captives – named by Hamas as Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari – will be freed first in exchange for about 95 Palestinians. A handful of Israelis will then be released every Sunday for the next six weeks; the number of Palestinians to be freed upon their return generally depends on whether the Israelis are civilians or soldiers. Some of the freed Palestinians from the West Bank sentenced for serious crimes against Israelis will be sent to third countries rather than be allowed to return home.
In Gaza, people displaced from their homes will be allowed to move freely around the Palestinian territory from day seven, and 600 trucks of aid will arrive each day to alleviate the strip’s dire humanitarian conditions. Supplies to Gaza are currently at an average of 18 truckloads a day; aid agencies say 500 a day is needed at a minimum.
Israeli attacks killed at least 13 Palestinian people this morning - medics
Israeli airstrikes and artillery attacks killed at least 13 Palestinian people between 0630 GMT, when the ceasefire was meant to begin, and 0915 GMT, when it actually took effect, Palestinian medics said.
Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, is reporting that the Israeli attacks have targeted Beit Lahiya, Gaza City and al-Bureij in Gaza. What it is describing as “violent shelling” is occurring in Beit Hanoun and other areas in the northern part of the Strip. Dozens more people are reported to have been injured in the attacks.
Updated
Displaced Palestinians make their way home - in pictures
Thousands of displaced Palestinian people carrying tents, clothes and personal belongings have began heading to their homes as the ceasefire comes into effect. Here are some of the latest images being sent to us over the newswires from the Gaza Strip, which has still been hit by deadly Israeli airstrikes this morning:
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The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, is taking questions from the press in Jerusalem. Here are some of the main points he made during the briefing.
Sa’ar told reporters that Donald Trump, who returns to the White House as president tomorrow, and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will meet “soon” to discuss all issues of “great importance”. Separately, he accused Iran of inflaming Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Sa’ar went on to say that Israel remains committed to releasing all the hostages (Hamas seized 251 hostages during the October 7 attack in 2023, in which 1,200 people wee killed, and, after 15 months of Israel’s war, is estimated to hold 94).
“It is clear, as I said previously, that to move from the first phase to the second phase (of the ceasefire agreement) is not something automatic. We have objectives of the war. To do it automatically is to accept Hamas’ wishes and Hamas’ demands. We have objectives to achieve and we will negotiate that in good faith,” Sa’ar said.
Sa’ar said that Israel is committed to achieving its objectives in the Gaza war, including the return of hostages and dismantling of Hamas’ government and military capabilities.
He said there would be no future peace, stability and security for both sides if Hamas, which is committed to the destruction of Israel and has been in control of Gaza since 2007, remained in power in Gaza.
Updated
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, says it has 4,000 truckloads of humanitarian assistance ready to enter the Gaza Strip, with half of them carrying food and flour. Hundreds of aid trucks are now waiting to cross into Gaza.
“Attacks on aid convoys in the Gaza Strip could decline as humanitarian relief comes in following a ceasefire,” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of Unrwa, said.
International aid agencies have repeatedly accused Israel of blocking or delaying distribution of vital food, medicine and fuel over the course of its war on Gaza. As part of the deal, aid to the territory should increase to 600 trucks a day, above the 500 minimum that aid agencies say is needed to contain Gaza’s devastating humanitarian crisis.
UNRWA has 4,000 truckloads of aid ready to enter #Gaza — half of them carry food and flour.
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) January 19, 2025
Attacks on aid convoys in the Gaza Strip could decline as humanitarian relief comes in following a #ceasefire, says @UNLazzarini.https://t.co/yRt1NxWuXS
The Israeli parliament decided in late October to pass a law banning Unrwa from operating in the country. Unrwa said the new laws will cause the supply chain of aid to Gaza to “fall apart”.
Updated
Summary of the day so far...
Here is a quick round up of what has happened today:
The much anticipated ceasefire, which comes in three phases, began at 11:15 local time (9:15 GMT) after a three-hour delay.
Hamas released the names of three female hostages who it says it will be freed later today. They are Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, who were kidnapped from their kibbutz, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was taken from the Supernova Festival in October 2023.
The ceasefire was delayed this morning because Israel said it had not received a list of the three hostages to be freed on time. Hamas blamed “technical” reasons for the delay, saying it was still committed to the truce.
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire will see more than 30 hostages - including women, children and elderly people - exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The releases will be staggered.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said eight Palestinian people had been killed after deadly Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip during the hours after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect. Three Palestinians were killed in eastern Gaza City by Israeli drones, medics in the territory said on Sunday.
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s party announced it was leaving the country’s ruling coalition in protest at what it called the “scandalous” Gaza ceasefire agreement. Benjamin Netanyahu’s slim majority remains intact.
The Israeli prime minister’s office says the release of three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would take place after 1400 GMT (1600 local time) on Sunday, adding that four other living female hostages would be freed in seven days.
Qatar, which has been a key mediator in the ceasefire negotiations, has confirmed that the Gaza ceasefire has begun. Qatar, the US and Egypt will monitor the ceasefire deal through a body based in Cairo.
Gaza ceasefire has come into effect, Israel says
The long-anticipated ceasefire deal has officially come into effect. The first three hostages to be released by Hamas have been named as Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, who were kidnapped from their kibbutz, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was taken from the Supernova Festival in October 2023. They are expected to be released later today.
“According to the plan for the release of the hostages, the ceasefire for phase one in Gaza will come into effect at 11:15 local time (09:15 GMT),” a statement from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office read.
The ceasefire deal comes in three stages. In the first stage of the ceasefire deal, 33 hostages are set to be released over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remainder are to be released in a second phase. The 98 hostages – some of whom are believed to be dead – include four people taken hostage in 2014 and 2015.
Updated
More now on the resignation of Itamar Ben-Gvir, Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline national security minister. His departure does not come as a complete shock as he threatened last week he would quit the government if it ratified the ceasefire deal (which it ended up doing). He claimed it would “erase the achievements of the war” by releasing Palestinian militants and ceding territory in Gaza.
In a statement, Ben-Gvir’s party Jewish Power called the ceasefire deal a “capitulation to Hamas” and denounced what it called the “release of hundreds of murderers” and the “renouncing of the (Israeli military’s) achievements in the war” in Gaza. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu retains a slim majority in the Knesset – the Israeli parliament - despite the resignations.
Ben-Gvir last week urged far right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has described the deal as a “catastrophe”, to join him in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a ceasefire deal.
Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party threatened to quit the government if it did not go back to war to defeat Hamas after the first six-week phase of the ceasefire was completed.
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Hamas releases names of first Israeli hostages to be freed
Bethan McKernan, the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, has more information about the three Israeli female hostages to be freed later today as part of the ceasefire deal which has still not come into effect:
Hamas’s armed wing has released the names of the three living female hostages due to be returned home today - Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31. Steinbrecher was incorrectly named as “Shtanbar Khair” in the message delivered by al-Qassam’s Telegram channel. Israel has not yet confirmed the list given by Hamas.
Damari and Steinbrecher were abducted from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, while Gonen was taken from the Nova festival.
Video from 7 October 2023 shows that Damari was shot in the hand and the leg during the attack by Hamas.
Steinbrecher appeared in a hostage video released by Hamas in January last year. She appeared to be in a tunnel, and had lost a lot of weight.
There had been no signs of life from either Damari or Gonen since the day they were seized, although a hostage released in the week-long ceasefire in November 2023 told Gonen’s family that she was alive, but in bad condition.
Damari holds British citizenship, and her club, Tottenham Hotspur, came together with Arsena during the north London derby last week to honour her, releasing yellow balloons in the seventh minute of the game - the colour adopted by the hostages’ families.
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Israel has received the names of the hostages to be released by Hamas today - official
An Israeli official has confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the names of the hostages to be released today (see post at 08.30) have been received.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire, which had been due to start at 0630 GMT, would not begin until Israel received the names.
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Israel’s state X account has shared an image of who it says are the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal:
❤️🎗️
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) January 19, 2025
We are waiting for each and every one of you. pic.twitter.com/hys5TbvqU8
Names of Israeli hostages to be released on first day handed over - reports
Israel has received names of the hostages set to to be released on the first day of the ceasefire agreement, Israel’s principal mainstream news outlet, Channel 12, is reporting.
Hamas has said it is releasing these Israeli hostages today:
1- Romi Gonen (24)
2- Emily Damari (28)
3- Doron Steinbrecher (31)
The ceasefire deal, which has been approved by both sides following extensive mediation talks in Qatar, comes in three stages. The first six-week phase of the agreement will see more than 30 hostages - including women, children and elderly people - exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The releases will be staggered. On Sunday, three Israeli hostages are expected to be released, followed by four more on the seventh day, and again at the end of each week of the ceasefire.
It is still unclear when the ceasefire will begin. It was due to start at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT) but has been delayed. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, attributed the delay to a “technical” issue. The list of names of the Israeli hostages to be released was a major stumbling block so could mean the ceasefire coming into effect is imminent.
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Israeli minister resigns from government over ceasefire deal
Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and two other ministers from his nationalist-religious party have resigned from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in protest over the Gaza ceasefire deal.
More details soon…
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Deadly Israeli attacks in Gaza continue as hostage list dispute delays ceasefire
Fighting continued in Gaza on Sunday morning past the time set for a ceasefire after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had failed to provide the names of three hostages it was due to release later in the day.
Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names of the hostages due to be released on Sunday on “technical field reasons” and that the names would be released “any minute”. It said in a statement that it was committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
The Hamas-run civil defence agency said eight people had been killed after the Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire was supposed to take effect this morning. Three Palestinians were killed in eastern Gaza City by Israeli drones, medics in the territory said on Sunday. The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had struck “terror targets” in northern and central Gaza.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement at the time the ceasefire was meant to take effect, that Hamas was not meeting its obligations and that Israel would continue to attack as long as Hamas did not meet its demands.
Three female hostages were expected to be released on Sunday afternoon through the Red Cross, in return for 30 Palestinian prisoners each.
The highly anticipated ceasefire would open the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.
Hamas official says list of hostages to be given 'any moment'
As we have already mentioned, the ceasefire was due to come into effect at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT), but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the temporary truce ill not go ahead until Hamas provides the names of the first hostages it plans to release. AFP is now quoting a Hamas official saying that the list of hostages would be handed over “any moment”, but that “complexities” in Gaza and Israeli bombing were causing delays.
The official, who took part in the ceasefire negotiations, said at “any moment, the names of the three prisoners... will be handed over, but the complexities of the field situation and the continued bombing have delayed that”. We have not been able to independently verify this information.
Here are some of the latest images coming in from the Gaza area as the ceasefire deadline passed amid a dispute and Israeli strikes continued.
An Israeli official said the Gaza ceasefire deal was expected to go forward despite the delay in the start of the truce, Associated Press is reporting.
The official said on Sunday that the timing of the deal’s progress remained in question, but also that mediators had provided assurances that Hamas would deliver the list of hostages meant to be handed over by Hamas to Israel.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing efforts to resolve the matter.
The delay on the first day of the ceasefire has underscored the fragility of the internationally mediated deal.
Israeli strikes kills three in Gaza, say medics
Al Araby TV has reported that the Israeli military is shooting at Palestinians trying to return to their home in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Three Palestinians were killed in eastern Gaza City by Israeli drones that opened fire, medics in the territory said on Sunday.
The Israeli military confirmed it was continuing to carry out attacks in the strip, adding it had struck “terror targets” in northern and central Gaza.
The strikes came as the ceasefire implementation was delayed with Israel accusing Hamas of not fulfilling its obligation to send Israel the list of hostages to be released on the first day.
Hamas said the delay problems were “technical”. According to some unofficial sources, there would be a problem of correspondence between the Israeli hostages to be released and the Palestinian prisoners to be freed.
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The deadline for the start of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, supposed to begin at 8.30 local time, has passed and the Israeli army continues to shell areas in the territory.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Hamas had not lived up to its commitment to provide the names of the three hostages it was set to release later in the day in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.
Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesman, said the army “continues to attack” and would until Hamas complied with the agreement. Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”.
In the vicinity of Gaza City and central Gaza, residents have reported hearing gunfire and explosions at several locations.
Al Jazeera is showing live images of Israeli bombings with columns of smoke rising from the affected areas.
An Israeli official said mediators had provided assurances that the list would be delivered and the deal was still expected to go forward, though the timing remains in question.
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Israeli tanks continued to shell areas in Gaza as the scheduled time of 8.30am (0630 GMT) for the ceasefire to take effect passed, Reuters reports.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a brief televised address on Sunday that the political echelon 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.
As reported, he said the ceasefire was delayed as Hamas had not fulfilled its obligation to send Israel the list of hostages to be released on the first day. He 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.
In the vicinity of Gaza City and central Gaza, residents have reported hearing gunfire and explosions at several locations, Lorenzo Tondo reports.
Bethan McKernan reports that it “seems like people are already trying to move back home” in Gaza, thinking the ceasefire has gone into effect, and that Israel looks to be trying to stop them.
She says there are “big plumes of black smoke over Beit Hanoun” in north-east Gaza and that the sound of outgoing artillery and automatic gunfire can be heard.
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IDF 'continues to attack' in Gaza amid dispute as truce start delayed
The Israeli military says it “continues to attack” inside the Gaza Strip as a dispute with Hamas delayed the start of a planned ceasefire, the Associated Press is reporting.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the truce would not begin until Hamas handed over the names of three hostages to be released later on Sunday, echoing an earlier statement from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lorenzo Tondo reports that it was unclear if the dispute had been resolved when the deadline for the truce to begin passed at 8.30am local time.
Hagari said soldiers were fully ready for the implementation of the ceasefire but also ready ‘‘to respond is terms are broken by Hamas”.
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Reports are emerging that Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, will soon comment on the ceasefire’s apparent delay and the reasons behind it.
We’ll keep you updated as more comes to light.
The Israel-Hamas truce is scheduled to have begun now, starting at 8.30am local time (6.30am GMT) on Sunday, key mediator Qatar has said at the weekend.
Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier today, however, that the Gaza ceasefire would not begin until Israel had received a list of the hostages set to be released by Hamas.
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IDF says body of soldier held in Gaza since 2014 recovered
The Israeli military says it has recovered the body of an Israeli soldier, Oron Shaul, who had been held in Gaza since 2014.
“Last night, in a special operation by the Shin Bet [security agency] and the IDF [military] ... we brought back to Israel the body of Golani fighter Oron Shaul,” the military said in a statement on Sunday, AFP reports.
The Israeli army has warned Gaza residents not to approach its forces or make any movement towards the buffer zone ahead of a ceasefire’s scheduled start time of 6.30am GMT Sunday.
“We urge you not to head towards the buffer zone or IDF forces for your safety,” Agence France-Presse quoted military spokesperson Avichay Adraee as saying on Telegram.
“At this stage, heading towards the buffer zone or moving from south to north via Gaza Valley puts you at risk. Anyone heading towards these areas endangers themselves.”
Netanyahu says truce won't start until Hamas lists hostages to be freed
Benjamin Netanyahu said early Sunday that the ceasefire in Gaza would not begin until Israel has received a list of the hostages set to be released from Hamas.
The Israeli prime minister reiterated the warning in a statement barely an hour before the ceasefire was set to begin at 8.30am local time, the Associated Press reports.
Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”. It said in a statement that it was committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
The exchange raised doubts about whether the ceasefire would begin as planned. Hamas is expected to release three hostages later on Sunday in exchange for scores of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel in the ceasefire’s first phase.
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Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. It’s 7.22am in Tel Aviv and Gaza City and we’re just over an hour away from the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas scheduled to come into effect at 8.30am local time (6.30am GMT) on Sunday.
The ceasefire, set to be followed by a hostage release hours later, opens the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East, as Reuters reports.
Israeli forces started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, pro-Hamas media reported early on Sunday.
Israel’s military warned Gaza residents not to approach its troops or move around the Palestinian territory ahead of the 8.30am ceasefire deadline, adding that when movement was allowed “a statement and instructions will be issued on safe transit methods”.
The truce agreement followed months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the US and came just ahead of the 20 January inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump.
Under the three-stage ceasefire, its first stage will last six weeks, during which 33 of the remaining 98 hostages – women, children, men over 50, the ill and wounded – will be released in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
In other developments:
Benjamin Netanyahu said the first stage of the deal was temporary, adding: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways.” The prime minister added that both Donald Trump and Joe Biden back Israel’s “right to resume fighting if the second stage is fruitless”. Netanyahu also said Israel would not go ahead with the ceasefire deal until it received a list of the 33 hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the deal’s first phase. “Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. The sole responsibility lies with Hamas.”
Hamas said on Saturday that the mechanism of the release of Israeli hostages it held in Gaza would depend on the number of detained Palestinians Israel would free. Hamas also said Israel had “failed to achieve its aggressive goals” in Gaza.
Yemen’s Houthis claimed an attack on a US aircraft carrier on Sunday and warned of “consequences” for any retaliation during the coming Gaza ceasefire. The Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday. The military activated air raid sirens in Jerusalem and in parts of central and southern Israel ahead of the interceptions.
Israeli forces have killed at least 46,899 Palestinians and injured 110,725 since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in an update on Saturday. It said 23 Palestinians were killed and 83 had been injured over the past 24 hours.
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