JERUSALEM/CAIRO: Fighting in the Gaza Strip halted on Sunday (Jan 19) as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas took effect after a brief delay, pausing a 15-month-old war that has brought devastation and seismic political change to the Middle East.
Residents and a medical worker in Gaza said they had heard no new fighting or military strikes since about half an hour before it was finally implemented.
Israeli airstrikes, artillery and tank attacks continued in northern Gaza after the initial deadline of 8.30am local time (2.30pm Singapore time), Gaza-based paramedics said, killing at least 13 Palestinians and wounding dozens more before the ceasefire actually took effect at 11.15am local time. Israel’s military said it had carried out air and artillery strikes against “terror targets”.
Israel blamed Hamas for the delay after the Palestinian militant group failed to provide a list naming the first three hostages it would release later on Sunday as part of the agreement.
“Hamas was obliged to provide the names of the first female hostages to be released at 4pm yesterday,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told journalists shortly after the ceasefire started. “We received the list over 18 hours after it was due.”
Hamas said “technical” reasons had caused the delay, without elaborating.
A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, blamed ongoing Israeli air and ground bombardments, saying this made it physically difficult to send the list to mediators.
In a statement issued two hours after the ceasefire deadline, Hamas said it had sent the list of names, and Israeli officials confirmed receipt. Hamas named the hostages it was to release on Sunday as Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.
Israel did not immediately confirm the names.
The highly anticipated 42-day ceasefire deal could pave the way for an end to the Gaza war, which has sparked a wave of fighting across the Middle East that largely pits Israel and its Western and US allies against Iran and the paramilitary groups Tehran supports, including Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, the Houthis of Yemen and Iraqi militias.
Hamas, which controls the besieged coastal enclave of Gaza, sparked the war by attacking towns in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Most of those have since been released or killed.
A further 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat in Gaza.
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in retaliation against Hamas has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza-based health officials. Those include thousands of Hamas fighters and the group’s top military leaders, but the UN human rights office says the majority of deaths it has verified are women and children.
The assault has destroyed the territory’s infrastructure and made almost all its 2.3 million residents homeless.
