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Israeli PM orders military not to begin the ceasefire until the names are released. Hamas says delay due to ‘technical field reasons’.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military not to begin the ceasefire in Gaza, scheduled to start at 8:30am (06:30 GMT), until Hamas issues the names of the captives to be released, his office said.
“The prime minister instructed the IDF that the ceasefire, which is supposed to go into effect at 8:30am, will not begin until Israel has the list of released abductees that Hamas has pledged to provide,” his office said in a statement on Sunday.
In a statement shortly afterwards, Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”, and said it was committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Amman, the Jordanian capital, said there was “so much international pressure” on both Hamas and Israel, it would be “very difficult” to see how the ceasefire, particularly the first phase, does not go ahead.
“Will there be some delays potentially at this point in time? I’m pretty sure Qatar will be putting incredible pressure on Hamas, if indeed these names haven’t yet been handed over, to do so,” she said.
“But Hamas has reiterated it is committed to the ceasefire, and then it will hand these names over as soon as they can.”
Netanyahu’s warning came hours after his speech in which he said Israel retained the right to resume war in Gaza, and that it had the backing of the United States to do so if the second stage of the ceasefire is fruitless.
The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire should see a total of 33 captives returned from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released by Israel.
Israeli forces should pull back into a buffer zone inside Gaza, and many displaced Palestinians should be able to return home. The devastated territory should also see a surge in humanitarian aid.
This is going to be only the second halt in the war, proposed to be longer and more consequential than the weeklong pause more than a year ago, with the potential to end the fighting for good.
Negotiations on the far more difficult second phase of this ceasefire should begin in about two weeks. Key questions remain, including whether the war will resume after the six-week first phase and how the rest of the nearly 100 captives in Gaza will be freed.
Israel’s cabinet approved the ceasefire on Saturday in a rare session during the Jewish Sabbath, more than two days after mediators announced the deal.
The warring sides were under pressure from both the outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump to achieve a deal before the US presidential inauguration on Monday.
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