Gaza ceasefire deal takes effect and fighting halts after delay

3 weeks ago 12

CAIRO: A ceasefire woody betwixt Israel and Hamas successful the Gaza Strip took effect connected Sunday aft a astir three-hour delay, pausing a 15-month-old warfare that has brought devastation and seismic governmental alteration to the Middle East.

Residents and a aesculapian idiosyncratic successful Gaza said that they had heard nary caller warring oregon subject strikes since astir fractional an hr earlier it was yet implemented.

Israeli airstrikes and artillery attacks killed 13 Palestinians betwixt 0630 GMT, erstwhile the ceasefire was meant to begin, and 0915 GMT, erstwhile it really took effect, Palestinian medics said.

Israel blamed Hamas for the hold aft the Palestinian militant radical failed to supply a database naming the archetypal three

hostages

to beryllium released nether the deal.

Hamas attributed the hold to “technical” reasons, without specifying what those were.

A Palestinian authoritative acquainted with the matter, speaking connected information of anonymity, said the hold occurred due to the fact that mediators had asked for 48 hours of “calm” earlier the ceasefire’s implementation, but continued Israeli strikes close up until the deadline had made it hard to nonstop the list.

Two hours aft the deadline, Hamas said it had sent the database of names, and Israeli officials confirmed receipt. Hamas named the hostages it was to merchandise connected Sunday arsenic Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.

Israel did not instantly corroborate the names.

The highly anticipated ceasefire woody could assistance usher successful an extremity to the Gaza war, which began aft Hamas, which controls the tiny coastal territory, attacked Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, sidesplitting immoderate 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s effect has reduced overmuch of Gaza to rubble and killed astir 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza-based wellness authorities.

The warfare besides acceptable disconnected a confrontation passim the Middle East betwixt Israel and its arch-foe Iran, which backs Hamas and different anti-Israeli and anti-American paramilitary forces crossed the region.

HOSTAGE LIST, LAST-MINUTE ATTACKS

Ahead of the ceasefire’s agreed implementation astatine 0630 GMT, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it could not instrumentality effect until Hamas gave the names of the hostages up for merchandise connected Sunday.

Israeli subject spokespeople said successful abstracted statements connected Sunday that their craft and artillery had attacked “

terror targets

“ successful bluish and cardinal Gaza, and that the subject would proceed to onslaught the portion arsenic agelong arsenic Hamas did not conscionable its

obligations

under the ceasefire.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said that astatine slightest 13 radical were killed successful the Israeli attacks and dozens wounded. Medics reported tanks firing astatine the Zeitoun country of Gaza City, and said that an airstrike and vessel occurrence besides deed the bluish municipality of Beit Hanoun, sending residents who had returned determination successful anticipation of the ceasefire fleeing.

An aerial raid siren that sounded successful the Sderot country of confederate Irael had been a mendacious alarm, the Israeli subject said successful a abstracted statement.

Israeli forces had started withdrawing from areas successful Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor on the borderline betwixt Egypt and Gaza, pro-Hamas media reported aboriginal connected Sunday.

The three-stage ceasefire statement followed months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and came conscionable up of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Its archetypal signifier volition past six weeks, during which 33 of the remaining 98 hostages - women, children, men implicit 50, the sick and wounded - volition beryllium released successful instrumentality for astir 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

They see 737 male, pistillate and teen-aged prisoners, immoderate of whom are members of militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, arsenic good arsenic hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza successful detention since the commencement of the war.

The archetypal 3 are pistillate hostages expected to beryllium released done the Red Cross connected Sunday. In instrumentality for each, 30 Palestinian prisoners held successful Israeli jails are to beryllium released.

Under the presumption of the deal, Hamas volition pass the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) wherever the gathering constituent volition beryllium wrong Gaza and the ICRC is expected to statesman driving to that determination to cod the hostages, an authoritative progressive successful the process told Reuters.

ENDING THE WAR?

U.S. President Joe Biden’s squad worked intimately with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to propulsion the woody implicit the line.

As his inauguration approached, Trump had repeated his request that a woody beryllium done swiftly, informing repeatedly that determination would beryllium “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released.

But what volition travel adjacent successful Gaza remains unclear successful the lack of a broad statement connected the postwar aboriginal of the enclave, which volition necessitate billions of dollars and years of enactment to rebuild.

And though the stated purpose of the ceasefire is to extremity the warfare entirely, it could easy unravel.

Hamas, which has controlled Gaza for astir 2 decades, has survived contempt losing its apical enactment and thousands of fighters.

Israel has vowed it volition not let Hamas to instrumentality to powerfulness and has cleared ample stretches of crushed wrong Gaza, successful a measurement wide seen arsenic a determination towards creating a buffer portion that volition let its troops to enactment freely against threats successful the enclave.

In Israel, the instrumentality of the hostages whitethorn easiness immoderate of the nationalist choler against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing authorities implicit the Oct. 7 information nonaccomplishment that led to the deadliest azygous time successful the country’s history.

MIDEAST SHOCKWAVES

The warfare sent shockwaves crossed the region, triggering a struggle with the Tehran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah question and bringing Israel into nonstop struggle with its arch-foe Iran for the archetypal time.

It has besides transformed the Middle East. Iran, which spent billions gathering up a web of militant groups astir Israel, has seen its “Axis of Resistance” wrecked and was incapable to inflict much than minimal harm connected Israel successful 2 large rocket attacks.

Hezbollah, whose immense rocket arsenal was erstwhile seen arsenic the biggest menace to Israel, has seen its its apical enactment killed and astir of its missiles and subject infrastructure destroyed.

On the diplomatic front, Israel has faced outrage and isolation implicit the decease and devastation successful Gaza.

Netanyahu faces an International Criminal Court apprehension warrant connected warfare crimes allegations and abstracted accusations of genocide astatine the International Court of Justice.

Israel has reacted with fury to some cases, rejecting the charges arsenic politically motivated and accusing South Africa, which brought the archetypal ICJ lawsuit arsenic good arsenic the countries that person joined it, of antisemitism.

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