ISRAEL-HAMAS ceasefire takes effect three hours behind schedule

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began about three hours later than scheduled.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said the first phase of the ceasefire with Palestinian militant Hamas took effect at 11:15 a.m. local time on the 19th and 6:15 p.m. local time today.

The prime minister's office also said it would take over three hostages from Hamas after 4 p.m. and four other surviving hostages would be released in seven days.

Israel and Hamas initially agreed to a truce at 8:30 a.m., but it was delayed by 2 hours and 45 minutes because Hamas did not hand over a list of hostages to be released.

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the two sides agreed to release the list 24 hours before the hostage's release, or on the afternoon of the 18th.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that a ceasefire will not begin until the list is delivered.

As a result, Israeli forces pressed Hamas, disclosing that "air forces are airstrikes on terrorist targets in Gaza."

Eight people were killed and 25 injured in Gaza.

Hamas belatedly released the list, saying technical problems delayed the delivery of the list and that it was complying with the ceasefire agreement.

Israel and Hamas will stop fighting for six weeks, the first phase, and exchange hostages and Palestinian prisoners for detailed discussions on the next two and three phases.

In the first phase, Hamas decided to release 33 of the Israeli hostages, including women, children and elderly people, who were taken in a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Israel is set to release 737 Palestinian prisoners.