Gaza ceasefire to begin today: Qatar has announced that its mediated ceasefire agreement between Palestinian region of Gaza and the Israeli government will come into effect today morning, on January 19, according to an AFP report. Further, in a TV address in the evening on January 18, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he would "bring back all the hostages" and stressed that the country has US support to restart the war if necessary, the report added.
The truce agreement will pause over 15 months of strikes and attacks in Gaza that have devastated the region.
As per the ceasefire agreement, an initial period of 42-day truce will see Hamas return 33 hostages — three of them on Sunday (January 19), while Israel will release hundreds of Palestinians in return, some of whom will be deported, the report added.
“As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30 am (0630 GMT) on Sunday. We advise the inhabitants to take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official sources,” Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.
Besides the hostage exchange, this first phase of the deal will also include a complete ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated parts of Gaza, according to US President Joe Biden, Time magazine reported. He added that in the second phase of the deal, the remaining hostages, including male soldiers and departure of the rest of the Israeli forces from Gaza is planned, as per the magazine.
Notably, despite active ceasefire talks, Israeli strikes on Gaza continued even on the eve of the truce. According to Gaza's civil defence agency, at least five members of one family were killed when a strike hit their tent in Khan Yunis.
Further, in support of the Palestinians, the Houthis from Yemen launched missiles at Israel, which were intercepted and explosions heard over Jerusalem. As per the Houthis claim, the defence ministry in Tel Aviv and the Red Sea port city of Eilat were targets, the AFP report said.
Besides Israeli targets, Houthis also shot at an American aircaft carrier in the Red Sea early on January 19 and warned of “consequences” if there was any retaliation during the ceasefire period.
In the over 15 months of bombardment in Gaza, there has been only one previous truce in November 2023, which lasted for a week and saw the release of some hostages by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
In his address, Netanyahu said Israel had “changed the face of the Middle East” since the war began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack. He also termed this 42-day first phase that starts today a “temporary ceasefire”, adding: “If we are forced to resume the war, we will do so with force."
Hamas on its part stated that Israel “failed to achieve its aggressive goals” and “only succeeded in committing war crimes that disgrace the dignity of humanity”.
As part of this deal, 737 Palestinians will be freed by Israel after 4 pm today (January 19), AFP said citing Israel's justice ministry.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told Sky News the framework signed this week was the same as one agreed in December 2023, adding it amounted to 13 months of “waste”.
The truce is to take effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration for a second term as US president. On US network NBC on January 18, Trump said he told Netanyahu that the war “has to end”. “We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done,” he said.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, had completed preparations “to assume full responsibility in Gaza” after the war.
Israel has expressed no definitive stance on post-war governance beyond rejecting any role for either Hamas or the PA.
Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gaza should be under PA control.
Ahead of the truce, displaced Gazans prepared to return home. “I will go to kiss my land. If I die on my land, it would be better than being here as a displaced person,” Nasr al-Gharabli, who fled Gaza City for a camp farther south told AFP.
In aid-starved Gaza, humanitarian workers caution that a monumental task lies ahead. Hundreds of trucks loaded with aid have lined up on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said 600 trucks a day would enter Gaza after the ceasefire takes effect, including 50 carrying fuel.
Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Of the 251 people taken hostage, 94 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing at least 46,899 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry numbers. The United Nations considers these stats reliable.
(With inputs from AFP)
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