Israel says ceasefire agreement with Hamas begins, after 3-hour delay

Israel announces truce with Hamas in Gaza after last-minute delay, exchange of hostages to follow.

Israel on Sunday (January 19, 2025) said a truce with Hamas began in Gaza at 0915 GMT, nearly three hours after initially scheduled, following a last-minute delay on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During the delay, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed eight people.

Israel-Hamas ceasefire LIVE updates

A statement from Netanyahu’s office, issued less than an hour before the truce had been set to start at 8:30 am (0630 GMT), said he had “instructed the IDF (military) that the ceasefire... will not begin until Israel has received the list” of hostages to be freed.

Hamas attributed the delay to “technical reasons”, as well as the “complexities of the field situation and the continued bombing”, ultimately publishing at around 10:30 a.m. the names of three Israeli women to be released on Sunday.

Israel confirmed it had received the list and was “checking the details”, before confirming shortly afterwards that the truce would begin at 11:15 a.m. local time.

AFPTV live images from northeastern Gaza showed a plume of grey smoke about 30 minutes after the truce was earlier to take effect, and again around 30 minutes later.