Ceasefire begins in Gaza amid delayed hostage swap

Key Points:.Ceasefire starts late after Hamas submits names of 3 hostages to be freed.First hostage swap: 3 hostages for 90 Palestinian detainees planned today.Gaza sees airstrikes before truce, with 13 Palestinians killed in attacks..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, is to be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events – and to interact with members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.By Dan Williams, Fares Akram and Galit Altstein___STEADY_PAYWALL___.The ceasefire in Gaza began after Hamas provided the names of three female Israeli hostages it plans to hand over on Sunday, ending an hours-long delay that led to more deadly strikes..A suspension of hostilities entered into effect at 11:15 a.m. local time, the Qatari foreign ministry said, later than the 8:30 a.m. initially planned. The three hostages are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, who's also a British national, according to Hamas. .Regarding reports when the ceasefire will begin in Gaza, we confirm that the names of the 3 hostages to be released today have been handed over to the Israeli side. They are three Israeli citizens, one of whom is of Romanian nationality and the other of British nationality, and…— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) January 19, 2025.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the government is reviewing the details of the list and the families of the hostages have been informed. Steinbrecher, 31, and Damari, 28, were kidnapped from Kfar Aza, and Gonen, 24, was abducted at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023..The Qatari and Egyptian-mediated deal backed by Washington stipulates an initial six-week truce during which 33 hostages will be freed by Hamas in return for hundreds of Palestinians jailed by Israel. The first swap of three hostages for around 90 detainees was due to take place later on Sunday..Hamas said that the delay in submitting the names of those to be released in the first batch was due to "technical and field reasons." .The Israeli military said at 9:20 a.m. that it was striking in Gaza, and that "artillery and aircrafts struck a number of terror targets in northern and central Gaza." It also said later that the Israeli Air Force is striking targets in the Gaza Strip. .Read more: 🔒 The Economist: Trump's X-Factor secures Gaza ceasefire after 15 months of Hell.Gaza's civil defense — a branch of the Hamas-run interior ministry — says 13 Palestinians were killed since Sunday morning across the Gaza strip in a wave of Israeli airstrikes and shelling..The militant group said it has begun deploying thousands of police officers according to a government plan to "maintain security and order." ."Government ministries and institutions are fully prepared to begin work according to a plan to implement all procedures that ensure a gradual return to normal life," Hamas said..In the southern towns of Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis, Hamas officers appeared in uniforms but were unarmed. A video circulating on social media showed armed men from Hamas' military wing, dressed in uniforms, emerging on pick-ups from the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis surrounded by cheering revelers. .Elsewhere, Palestinians were documented moving on foot from Gaza City to the northern parts of the enclave in which Israel has been operating over the last several months. .Residents of northern Gaza who have fled to the enclave's southern regions will not be permitted to return home until the seventh day of the ceasefire — initially on foot and later, on Day 22, by vehicles. .Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel has US guarantees to go back to fighting if negotiations on a second stage of the ceasefire falter and that "Israel is keeping significant assets in our hands in order to return all our hostages, and in order to meet all goals of the war.".Israel's tally of remaining Gaza hostages was lowered to 97 after it said its forces had recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier held by Hamas since a 2014. The vast majority of the hostages are from the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack which triggered the current conflict..Read also:.111 Gaza hostages await the outcome of ceasefire talks…Just wars can still be bad wars: Marc Champion on Israel-Gazasraeli hostage rescue operation in Gaza leads to over 200 casualties.© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

Ceasefire begins in Gaza amid delayed hostage swap

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