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5 minutes ago

Israel-Hamas ceasefire latest: Netanyahu says US will back return to war with only hours until Gaza ceasefire

The ceasefire deal was signed off by Israel’s government on Saturday morning - but attacks have continued on the Gaza Strip

Bel Trew
Tel Aviv
,Shweta Sharma,Barney Davis,Holly Evans
Sunday 19 January 2025 05:00 GMT
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Israel accuses Hamas of backtracking on ceasefire deal

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Benjamin Netanyahu has warned he reserves the right to restart the war in Gaza with the backing of the United States if he is not satisfied with Hamas’ handling of the ceasefire deal.

It came after he said Israel will not proceed with the ceasefire until he receives a list of the 33 hostages who will be released by Hamas in the first phase.

Israel’s government ratified the truce with Hamas on Saturday morning, paving the way for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip after 15 months of devastating fighting.

He told reporters: “If we resume combat we will do in new ways and in tremendous force. Hamas tried to dictate to us but I adamantly objected.

“It is Hamas who threw up obstacles, not Israel.”

The deal is set to come into effect at 8.30am local time (6.30am GMT) on Sunday, the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said.

Also on Saturday, in Gaza, Israeli warplanes kept up attacks. Tanks shelled the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City and airstrikes hit central and southern Gaza, residents said.

The Israeli military said that since Friday it had struck Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters who were among 50 “terror targets” it hit across the Gaza Strip.

At least 123 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said.

5 minutes ago

Ceasefire raises new fears for Gazans: ‘The next nightmare is just beginning’

Anxious civilians in Gaza are “counting the seconds” until a ceasefire is enforced, as Israeli airstrikes continue to pound the besieged strip, killing dozens of people, according to local health officials.

Despite a wobble when Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had attempted to “extort last-minute concessions”, the deal appeared back on track on Thursday night and is due to be ratified on Friday with fighting set to cease on Sunday.

In war-ravaged Gaza, the health ministry said waves of Israeli airstrikes continued in the meantime, killing 77 people – half of them women and children.

“We see and expect that the coming hours before the ceasefire will be bloody and harsh,” said Dr Raed Musleh, 52, an internal medicine doctor, himself homeless and displaced in the southern city of Khan Younis, where he said medics lacked drugs to treat the wounded.

Read Bel Trew and Nedal Hamdouna’s report for The Independent.

Shweta Sharma19 January 2025 05:00
35 minutes ago

Family of released Israeli hostage hopeful of Hamas ceasefire deal

Hostages’ families are hopeful for the return of their loved ones but remain “tense” waiting for a deal between Israel and Hamas.

Watch The Independent’s video from Tel Aviv.

Shweta Sharma19 January 2025 04:30
42 minutes ago

Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal: Who is going to be released and what to expect

A ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas is expected to come into effect at 8.30am local time on Sunday, seeing the release dozens of hostages held in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The long-fought-for deal, divided into three phases of 42 days each, was approved by the Israeli cabinet with a majority of 24 ministers in favour and eight against in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Many hope it will bring an end to the devastating 15-month conflict, which has claimed the lives of over 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza and more than 1,000 Israelis.

Read our full report.

Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal: Who is going to be released and what to expect

Hostages and Palestinian prisoners are expected to start being released from 4pm local time Sunday

Shweta Sharma19 January 2025 04:23
1 hour ago

Countdown to Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages begins

Families across Israel and Gaza are anxiously counting down the hours to the start of a historic ceasefire in Gaza after 15 months of brutal war that has devastated the territory. The truce will allow the return of hostages held since the start of the conflict.

Benjamin Netanyahu has said he expects the hostages to begin being released on Sunday, with Israel approving the deal in the early hours of Saturday morning. It will bring relief to families who have had to deal with the loss of loved ones amid the devastation wrought on Gaza – though they acknowledge the truce is a fragile thing that needs work to last beyond its initial six weeks.

One family member of a hostage told The Independent that “we must go all the way with the ceasefire deal, no one should be left behind” while another said that “enough is enough, bring everyone home”.

Read The Independent‘s Bel Trew’s report on the group speaking to the families.

Countdown to Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages begins

‘No one should be left behind’ declare families of Israeli hostages to Bel Trew in Tel Aviv, as Netanyahu’s government finally approves historic Gaza truce – with the first captives expected to be set free by Hamas on Sunday

Shweta Sharma19 January 2025 03:45
1 hour ago

UN says ‘so much hope as the clock ticks’ as ceasefire nears

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has said a lot if hope is building up but a lot will depend on good will of the parties involved.

“The ceasefire is expected to go into effect in a few hours. We follow with anticipation and hold our breath,” the UNRWA, said in a post on X.

“So much hope as the clock ticks: for the guns to finally go silent, for the hostages to be reunited with loved ones and for aid and commercial supplies to flow for people in need. A lot will depend on the good will of the parties and those with influence over them.”

Shweta Sharma19 January 2025 03:30
1 hour ago

Israeli forces start withdrawing from Rafah to corridor, report says

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.

(AFP via Getty Images)
Shweta Sharma19 January 2025 03:18
1 hour ago

What will happen on Sunday as ceasefire begins

The ceasefire goes into effect at 8.30am local time (6.30am GMT). According to the plan, three living female hostages are to be released after 4pm (2pm GMT). Soon afterwards, Israel will release around 95 Palestinian prisoners, who are mostly minors or female.

Hamas was supposed to provide Israel with the names of the three hostages on Saturday afternoon, but as of late Saturday night, Israel had still not received the names. The names are to be made public only after the hostages are returned and officially identified.

In southern Israel, schools will begin at 10am in anticipation that Hamas could launch rockets toward Israel just before the ceasefire begins.

Israeli troops inside Gaza will be deployed mostly among the territory’s borders with Israel and Egypt, and maintain a presence on a road that divides northern and southern Gaza, according to a map released by the Israeli military.

Meanwhile, hundreds of trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian supplies are expected to pour into Gaza.

Barney Davis19 January 2025 03:12
2 hours ago

Historic Gaza ceasefire and hostage release set to begin

A historic ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is set to come into effect this morning with the release of hostages to follow hours later.

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.

The ceasefire agreement followed months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and came just ahead of the 20 January inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump.

The three-stage ceasefire will come into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday.

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.

They include 737 male, female and teen-aged prisoners, some of whom are members of militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, as well as hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza in detention since the start of the war.

Three female hostages are expected to be released on Sunday afternoon through the Red Cross, in return for 30 prisoners each.

During the first phase the Israeli army will pull back from some of its positions in Gaza and Palestinians displaced from areas in northern Gaza will be allowed to return.

Shweta Sharma19 January 2025 02:54
2 hours ago

Family of one of the oldest Israeli hostages ‘hopes for miracle’ in ceasefire truce

Family of one of the oldest Israeli hostages ‘hopes for miracle’ in ceasefire truce
Barney Davis19 January 2025 02:12
3 hours ago

Thousands join pro-Palestine march in Westminster

Thousands join pro-Palestine march in Westminster
Barney Davis19 January 2025 01:12

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