GAZA: The Gaza ceasefire came into effect after Hamas released the names of the three Israeli hostages to be freed. It came into effect at 2.45 pm Indian time. With this, the 15-month-old war has been brought to an end. Hamas handed over the names of three Israeli hostages.
Israel had withdrawn from the agreement, alleging that Hamas had not handed over the details of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. It was initially decided that the agreement would come into effect at 8:30 am local time. However, Israel withdrew from the agreement half an hour before the implementation time. Later, Hamas handed over the names of the hostages two hours later through the mediator Qatar.
Meantime, Hamas has not yet clarified where the hostages will be handed over. Initially, it was announced that the hostages would be handed over at 4 pm local time (7 pm Indian time). After this, Israel will also release Palestinian prisoners. No further details have been released about this. There has also been a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepting the ceasefire.
The Israeli government gave its final approval to the agreement yesterday, overcoming opposition from far-right activists. The agreement was implemented after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt, and the US. So far, more than 46,890 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.
The decision is to implement the ceasefire agreement in three phases. The first phase of the agreement is 42 days. During this period, Hamas will release 33 hostages. In return, Israel will release 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. All women and children in Israeli prisons will be released in the first phase. Four more on the seventh day. Another 26 will be released over the next five weeks.