The Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza was postponed until 10:15 Belgian time (11:15 local time) on Sunday because Hamas had not delivered the names of hostages who were to be released in time.
The ceasefire was due to take effect at 08:30 local time (07:30 Belgian time), but Hamas had not yet delivered the names of hostages who were to be released, meaning the Israeli army "continued to carry out attacks in Gaza," said Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari on Sunday morning.
In the meantime, Israel has received the names of the first hostages – three women – to be released on Sunday from Hamas. Receiving a list of names was a condition for Israel to agree to the ceasefire that was supposed to start on Sunday morning. Qatar, which is one of the mediators in the negotiations between the two parties, has confirmed the start of the ceasefire.
Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that they decided to release three women who were kidnapped in the bloody Hamas attack of 7 October 2023. It concerns civilians Romi Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28) and Doron Steinbrecher (31), according to the Israeli media.
Gonen's family has confirmed that she is on the list. She was kidnapped at the Nova festival. Damari, who also has British nationality, and Steinbrecher were in the kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with the Gaza Strip.
'Technical problems'
Ahead of the intended starting time of the ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the planned agreement between Israel and Hamas would not start if he had not received a list of names in time.
Explaining the delay, Hamas said it was facing "technical problems on the ground" which meant the list was not yet complete, but added that it did have the intention to respect the agreement. That list of names should have been delivered 24 hours in advance, according to The Times of Israel.
The Israeli news website also reported, based on information from Netanyahu's office, that Netanyahu reviewed the situation overnight. He gave the army the message that the truce would not take effect until Hamas handed over the list of names as promised.
The release of the first hostages was scheduled for 16:00 local time (15:00 Belgian time) and involved three female civilians, according to the Israeli government. At about the same time, the first 90 Palestinian prisoners would then be released and taken to the West Bank or Gaza by security forces.
It is not yet clear what the postponement of the ceasefire means for the timing of the first exchanges.
This article was updated at 11:00 to include the Qatari confirmation of the ceasefire and the latest information about the hostages.
