Israeli strikes stop in Gaza after brief delay in ceasefire

A ceasefire between Israel and the Palestine-based fighter group Hamas came into effect on Jan 19, following 15 months of intense conflict and a brief delay in ending hostilities in the Gaza Strip

Residents and medics in Gaza affirmed that they heard no new military strikes about half an hour before the ceasefire was finally implemented.

However, Israeli airstrikes continued in northern Gaza after the initial deadline of 0630 GMT killing at least 13 Palestinians and injuring dozens more before the ceasefire was enforced at 0915 GMT, according to a Reuters report that cited Gaza-based paramedics.

Israel blamed the delay on Hamas saying that the group did not provide the list of the first three hostages that were to be released later Jan 19 as part of the ceasefire deal.

"Hamas was obliged to provide the names of the first female hostages to be released at 4:00 pm yesterday (1400 GMT on Sunday)," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told journalists shortly after the ceasefire started. “We received the list over 18 hours after it was due.”

Meanwhile, Hamas said the delay was caused because of technical issues without elaborating anything.

It released a statement two hours after the ceasefire was to be implemented, saying, it had sent the list of names, and Israeli officials confirmed receipt.

The hostages that were to be released on Jan 19 are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.

A Palestinian official, however, said that ongoing Israeli ground bombardments made it difficult to send the list to mediators, the report said.

Hamas said "technical" reasons had caused the delay, without elaborating.

A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, blamed ongoing Israeli air and ground bombardments, saying this made it physically difficult to send the list to mediators.

According to the ceasefire deal, Hamas will release the hostages in a phased manner in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Israel will release 30 Palestinians in exchange for 3 hostages held by Hamas.

As part of the initial phase of the agreement, 33 of the 98 remaining hostages in Gaza, including women, children, elderly men, and the ill or wounded, will be released over six weeks.

In exchange, nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be freed, including 737 men, women, and teenagers.

In another part of the ceasefire deal, the Israeli forces have started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor that lies along the border between Egypt and Gaza.

The three-stage agreement came after months of negotiations brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

The war in the region began after Hamas, which controls Gaza, attacked southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in retaliation has killed approximately 47,000 Palestinians, Gaza-based health officials have said.

According to the UN Human Rights Office, among those killed are mostly women and children.

The Israeli offensive has destroyed the region’s infrastructure and rendered almost all its 2.3 million residents homeless.

The much-anticipated 42-day ceasefire agreement holds the potential to end the Gaza war, which has fueled widespread conflict across the Middle East, largely aligning Israel and its Western allies, including the US, against Iran and its supported paramilitary groups such as Hamas, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Yemen’s Houthis, and militias in Iraq.