Israel-Hamas Ceasefire: Over 15-Month Long Gaza War Pauses As Truce Takes Effect Amid Last-Minute Delays

The Gaza ceasefire, delayed by several hours, began on Sunday (19 January) after Hamas released names of three Israeli hostages set to be freed.

This truce has temporarily halted a 15-month-long conflict that has caused widespread devastation and significant political shifts in the Middle East.

According to Israel, the truce with Hamas officially started in Gaza at 11.15 am local time (09.15 GMT, 2.45 pm IST), almost three hours after the originally planned time due to a last-minute decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During the delay, Hamas-controlled Gaza's civil defence agency reported ongoing Israeli military strikes in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military also acknowledged continuing operations "to strike within the Gaza area," in line with orders from Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s office, in a statement released less than an hour before the truce was scheduled to begin, announced that the Prime Minister had "instructed the IDF (military) that the ceasefire... will not begin until Israel has received the list" of hostages to be released.

Hamas, meanwhile, attributed the delay in sharing the list to "technical reasons", as well as the "complexities of the field situation and the continued bombing", ultimately publishing the names of three Israeli women to be released on Sunday nearly three hours after the deadline.

Two hours after the deadline, Israel confirmed it had received the list and was "checking the details", before confirming shortly afterwards that the truce would begin at 11.15 am local time.

Hamas has reportedly named the hostages it was to release on Sunday as Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.

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