In the Middle East, the truce between Israel and Hamas is having difficulty establishing itself. The entry into force of the ceasefire agreement, initially scheduled for Sunday at 8:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. in Paris), was delayed as Palestinian Hamas has not yet submitted the list of hostages to be released in the day as requested by Israel.
Hamas for its part affirmed that it had every intention of respecting the agreement but acknowledged a delay “in providing the names of the hostages to be released”, and this “for technical reasons on the ground”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “informed the army that the ceasefire supposed to come into force at 8:30 a.m. will not begin until Israel has the list of hostages who should be released and that Hamas undertook to provide it.”
An agreement a few days before Trump's inauguration
The ceasefire negotiated by Qatar with the help of the United States and Egypt must be followed by the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The agreement, reached by mediators on Wednesday, a few days before the inauguration of the new American president Donald Trump, fueled hopes for lasting peace despite another warning from Benjamin Netanyahu. The latter warned that it was “a provisional ceasefire” and that his country retained “the right to resume the war if necessary and with the support of the United States”.
Under the terms of the agreement, hostilities must cease and 33 Israeli hostages must be released, in a first phase spread over six weeks. In exchange, Israel will release 737 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Israeli Ministry of Justice, with Egypt reporting “more than 1,890 Palestinian prisoners” to be released during this first phase.
-Our file on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
This Sunday morning, before the truce came into force, the Israeli army ordered the inhabitants of Gaza not to approach its soldiers or to head towards the buffer zone. “At this point, heading towards the buffer zone or moving from south to north puts you in danger,” Arabic-language army spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned on Telegram.
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