Jerusalem, January 19. The much-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas began on Sunday at 9:15 am GMT, three hours behind schedule.
Though the ceasefire was scheduled to start at 6:15 am GMT, there was a last minute delay on the orders of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to reports, Netanyahu’s office stated that they were still awaiting the names of 33 Israeli hostages scheduled to be released by Hamas. The Palestinian group had released the names of only three Israeli women hostages to be released.
Hamas also said on Sunday that it was also awaiting a list of 90 prisoners to be released by Israel as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange on the first day of the ceasefire in Gaza. During the three-hour delay, Israeli strikes killed eight people in Gaza, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.
After the ceasefire took effect, the first trucks carrying humanitarian aid started entering Gaza.
“First trucks of supplies started entering” minutes after the ceasefire took effect on Sunday morning, UN aid official Jonathan Whittall, interim chief of the UN’s OCHA aid agency for the Palestinian territories, stated on X.
Though the UN official did not give details about from where the trucks entered Gaza, news agency AFP cited an Egyptian source saying on condition of anonymity that 197 trucks of aid and five of fuel entered through the crossing of Kerem Shalom between Israel and Gaza and that of al-Oga and Nitzana between Egypt and Israel.
