The long-awaited cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas was delayed Sunday, as Israel accused the terror-group of not living up to the pact after the morning deadline and continued military operations, reports said.
Barely an hour before the ceasefire was set to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he still hadn’t received the names of the captives slated to be freed by the terror group — but the group delivered the names shortly at about 10 a.m. local time, both sides acknowledged the Times of Israel said.
It was not clear if the delivery would immediately lead to the ceasefire being implemented, but Israeli Army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said earlier in the night that Hamas was not meeting its demands by failing to release the names and that Israel will continue to strike in Gaza, the Times of Israel said.
“As of this morning, Hamas is not fulfilling its obligations, and contrary to the agreement has not given Israel the names of the hostages [set for release today],” he reportedly said.
“Per the directive of the prime minister, the ceasefire will not take effect as long as Hamas is not fulfilling its obligations. The IDF is continuing to strike now in Gaza, as long as Hamas is not fulfilling its obligations to the deal.”
Within an hour, the Israeli Defense Force said it launched drone and artillery attacks on Hamas, the IDF said.
“A short while ago, IDF artillery and aircraft struck a number of terrorist targets in northern and central Gaza,” the IDF said on X.
“The IDF remains ready in offense and defense and will not allow any harm to the citizens.”
CNN showed video of huge plumes of smoke from apparent blasts billowing in Gaza early Sunday.
Three female hostages were set to be released from Gaza on Sunday – with Hamas supposed to have provided their names on Saturday, according to Israeli officials.
Netanyahu said he “instructed the IDF that the cease-fire, which is scheduled to take effect at 8:30 a.m., will not begin until Israel has the list of hostages to be released, which Hamas has pledged to provide,” according to the Times of Israel.
Hamas claimed on Saturday that the failure to turn over the names was due to “technical reasons” — and they were still committed to the deal, the Times of Israel said.
It was unclear where the deal stood or if it would be restarted if the issue of the names was rectified.
The hostage exchange was expected at 4 p.m. local time, Qatari officials announced earlier Saturday.
The breakthrough deal was struck Wednesday after an intense 96 hours of negotiations brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
The three-phase agreement will halt fighting for 42 days with 33 Israeli hostages incrementally freed from captivity in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
There are 97 hostages – civilians and soldiers – in captivity, but only 60 are believed to be alive. Seven Americans are also being held captive.
The deal outlines a six-week initial cease-fire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed over the past 15 months.
