Ceasefire delayed as Netanyahu demands hostage list from Hamas

Just minutes after announcing that a ceasefire deal with Hamas was delayed, Israel said it had continued striking targets in Gaza.

The strikes by artillery and aircraft were carried out in northern and central Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

“The IDF remains ready in defense and offense and will not allow any harm to the citizens of Israel,” it said.

TEL AVIV — A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was delayed from going into effect this morning in the Gaza Strip after Israeli officials said Hamas had yet to provide a list of names of the hostages it planned to release under the truce deal agreed days ago.

The ceasefire deal was expected to take effect at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET). But Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in an on-camera statement around that time that under the directive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ceasefire would not take effect “as long as Hamas fails to fulfill its commitments.”

“The IDF continues its operations inside the Gaza area at this moment, as long as Hamas does not adhere to the agreement and with all that it entails,” he said.

Earlier, it had warned that the ceasefire would not begin until Israel had the list of the first hostages to be freed. Hamas said in a statement early Sunday morning that it was still committed to the truce and said the delay was due to “technical reasons in the field.” It did not expand further.

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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has instructed the nation's armed forces that the 8:30 a.m. Sunday local time (1:30 a.m. ET) start of the ceasefire will not begin as scheduled until Israel gets a list of hostages to be freed under the deal with Hamas militants.

After a "security situation assessment" focused on the delay by Hamas to provide a list of hostages, Netanyahu ordered Israel Defense Forces to forgo the ceasefire for the time being, according to a statement from the prime minister's office released the morning the plan was to go into effect.

"The Prime Minister instructed the IDF that the ceasefire, which is supposed to go into effect at 8:30, will not begin until Israel has the list of freed hostages, which Hamas has pledged to provide," the office said.

On Sunday, Hamas blamed the delay on "technical reasons in the field," and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire. It would come more than two years after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel and the latter's response in the form of all-out war on the militant group in neighboring Gaza.

The long-awaited ceasefire, desired by the administration of President Joe Biden as he bids farewell to the White House this weekend, was approved by the Israeli government just after midnight on Saturday.

Two Israeli Americans are among the 33 Israeli hostages who were scheduled to be released from Gaza on Sunday as part of the ceasefire agreement.

As the first phase of the ceasefire deal approaches, Israel and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are preparing to receive hostages from Gaza and Palestinians who were detained by Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces have set up several locations equipped with medical supplies and other support to receive the hostages who have been in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

"Following this, the released hostages will continue on to hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families," the IDF said in a statement today.

The ICRC is preparing for "a significant operation" involving the release of Israeli hostages, Palestinian detainees and the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the statement read.

"The preparation for such operations involves everything from the logistics of transportation, increased personnel and distribution of supplies, as well as preparing colleagues who are receiving those released," the statement read.

While it said the ceasefire agreement "marks a new beginning," the group emphasized that "immense humanitarian needs will continue to exist after this operation."

A majority of Israelis support continuing the second phase of the ceasefire deal, even if it means halting the fighting in Gaza, a recent Kan News poll shows.

Of the respondents, 55% believe the second phase, which is expected to involve returning all living hostages, should proceed even if the fighting stops in Gaza.

Additionally, 62% of the public backs the overall deal for hostages’ release based on the details published so far.

However, opinions differ among coalition voters, with 46% favoring the resumption of fighting, even at the expense of returning all abductees.

The poll also shows a mixed outlook on the implementation of the second phase, with 40% perceiving a medium chance it will proceed, while 23% are less optimistic.

When asked who was responsible for the fact that the deal was signed more than 450 days after the Oct. 7 attack, 36% saw Hamas as the main culprit. In contrast, 25% thought Israel was responsible, and 22% said both sides were equally responsible.

Trucks filled with humanitarian aid were lined up on Egypt's side of the Rafah border crossing today, preparing to enter Gaza once the ceasefire takes effect tomorrow morning, according to the Egyptian Red Crescent.

Pictures posted to the nonprofit's Facebook showed dozens of aid workers at the border preparing the supplies for entry into the enclave.

President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is considering a visit to the war-torn Gaza Strip as part of his efforts to keep a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas on track, according to a transition official with direct knowledge of the ceasefire process.

Underscoring just how fragile the president-elect’s team believes the ceasefire deal that’s set to go into effect on Sunday is, Witkoff also plans to be a near-constant presence in the region over the coming weeks and months to troubleshoot flare-ups on the ground that he believes could unravel the agreement and halt the release of hostages held by Hamas at any moment, the official said.

“You have to be right on top of it, ready to snuff out a problem if it happens,” the official said.

At the same time, Witkoff is working to achieve long-term stability for the Israelis and 2 million displaced Palestinians, the path to which runs through the three phases of the deal reached this past week.

The first phase, which begins on Sunday, is set to last about six weeks and involves the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians held by Israel. The second phase would be negotiated during the first and is supposed to result in the release of additional hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The goal of the final phase, which also still needs to be negotiated, is to end the war and begin rebuilding Gaza.

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For a family in Gaza, celebrations over a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas were halted when an Israeli airstrike killed a couple and two of their sons. 

The parents were sleeping in a tent with their three children in the al-Mawasi area, near the southern city of Khan Younis, at the time of the airstrike.

Just days earlier, the family had been celebrating the announcement of a ceasefire agreement. Now, that hope for peace has turned into mourning.

“How can we celebrate a ceasefire when we’ve lost an entire family?” a relative said.

Crowds gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square today as Israel prepared for the ceasefire to begin in just hours.

Edry Shimon, who has traveled from Ashdod in southern Israel to Hostages Square every Saturday since Oct. 7, 2023, to raise an Israeli flag in support of hostages' release, expressed mixed feelings about the truce.

“I want the ceasefire, yes, but the deal with Hamas is not good,” he said, adding that he did not want Israel to negotiate with the militant group. When asked if he wanted fighting to stop in Gaza, he replied that he wasn’t thinking about that aspect of the 15-month war. “They don’t think about me and the people of Israel,” he said.

Moran Garama, 40, whose son Liam played on a piano nearby, said she and her family had come to Hostages Square after hearing the ceasefire news. While she said was relieved that the hostages would be released, she also expressed reluctance about a ceasefire.

“We are scared here in Israel,” she said.