A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is set to go into effect on Sunday at 8:30 am local time ♊(12:00 pm IST), as♔ announced by Qatar, the mediator in the negotiations. Families of hostages held in Gaza anxiously awaited news, while Palestinians prepared to receive freed detainees, and humanitarian organisations mobilised to deliver a surge of aid.
The first phase of the ceasefire, set to last 42 days, will see the exchange of 33 hostages for 737 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Negotiations for the ꦜsecond phase of the ceasefire are scheduled to begin after two weeks, but both sides remain cautious about the prospects of lasting peace.
Accordi😼ng to the ceasefire plan approved by Israel's Cabinet, the exchange will begin at 4 pm local time on Sunday. The plan says three living female hostages will be returned on Day 1, four on Day 7 and the remaining 26 ov𒊎er the following five weeks.
Israel's justice ministry has published a list of the prisoners, all younger or female. All Palestinian prisoners who were convicted of deadly attacks will be exiled to Gaza or abroad — some for three years and others permanently — and barred from returning to Israel🌺 or the West Bank.
The remaining hostages in Gaza, including male soldiers, will be released in a second phase to be negotiated during the first. Hamas has s🔯aid it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a fu💜ll Israeli withdrawal.
Israeli troops are to pull🧜 back into a buffer zone about a kilometre (0.6 miles) wide inside Gaza, along its borders with Israel during the first phase of the cease⛎fire to allow many displaced Palestinians to return to their homes, including in Gaza City and largely isolated and devastated northern Gaza.
This truce comes after more than a year-long war between Israel and Hamas that began with the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. T🐈he attack left approximately 1,200 people dead and 250 others taken captiveꦫ. In retaliation, Israel’s military response has resulted in the deaths of over 46,000 Palestinians, with women and children making up more than half of the casualties, according to local health officials.
In a national address just 12 hours before the ceasefire was scheduled to begin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasised that the ceasefire would be treated as temporary, with Israel reserving the right to resume fighting if necessary. Netanyahu also claimed to have the support of US President-elect Donald Trump. Despite t🔥his, Israel’s far-right Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir voiced opposition to the deal and threatened to resign from the government.
The ceasefire deal, which came after intense pressure from both US President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration and Trump, is a step toward ending 15 months of the deadliest and most destructive fighting between Israel and Hamas. This ceasefire is more than a yearꦫ after the previous attempt at peace.
Although Israel’s Cabinet approved the dealꦯ overnight in a rare meeting during the Jewish Sabbath, the approval set off a flurry of emotions, with families of hostages anxiously awaiting news about the fate of their loved ones.
This uncertainty was compounded by Israel’s continued airstrikes on ♔Gaza, which cla⛎imed 23 lives in the past 24 hours. Health officials also reported the deaths of a family in Khan Younis, Gaza, including two young children.
Despite the announcement of the ceasefire, v🃏iolence continued as sirens blared across central and southern Israel, where the military intercepted projectiles launched from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have stepped up their attacks in solidarity with Palestinians.
In preparation ꦉfor the ceasefire, Qatar’s foreign minister advised caution for Palestinians and others awaiting the agreement’s implementation. Israel’s military also warned Palestinians against crossing the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza for the first seven days of the ceasefire, urging t♚hem to avoid Israeli forces.
The ceasefire’s first phase wiওll also see the release of 1,167 Gaza residents, including women and children, who were not involved in the Hamas-led attack that sparked the conflict. The release of prisoners will follow a clear order, with female hostages being freed🌊 in the first week, followed by male prisoners and further releases over the following weeks.
Humanitarian aid is also expected to see a surge in Gaza, with Egypt’s foreign minister announcing that the Rafah crossing will soon be operationaꦅl, allowing 600 trucks of aid to enter daily during the ceasefire. The crossing has been closed since Israel’s military took over the area last May. The ceasefire plan approved by Israel’s Cabinet says all trucks entering Gaza will be subject to Israeli inspections.
However, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned that the ꦚsituation in Gaza remains highly complex. “It is clear that the situation in Gaza is still extremely complex and a lot of difficulties still remain for an effective distribution,” he said on Saturday𝐆.
(With agency inputs)
