Cairo, 18 January 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip agreed by Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement is set to come into effect at 8:30 am (0630 GMT) on Sunday morning, mediator Qatar announced on Saturday.

"As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari wrote on the social media platform X.

The official advised inhabitants of the coastal territory to "take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official sources."

Al-Ansari had previously announced that the ceasefire would start a little later, at 12:15 pm.

The first release of hostages held in Gaza is nonetheless expected at 4 pm on Sunday, according to the Israeli news portal Ynet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government approved the ceasefire and hostage deal early on Saturday after long deliberations, following earlier backing from the security Cabinet.

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had threatened to leave Netanyahu's coalition government if it approved the deal, according to media reports. Israeli media reported that 24 ministers ultimately backed the deal and eight opposed it.

Hope for hostages

The deal was announced on Wednesday, capping months-long efforts from the United States, Egypt and Qatar through indirect negotiations to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire and Hamas to release the hostages it is holding.

The three-phase agreement calls for an initial six-week pause in the fighting that has devastated the Gaza Strip over the past 15 months and, according to the Hamas health authority, killed more than 46,000 people in the Palestinian territory.

During this first phase, Hamas is to release 33 hostages held by militants in Gaza and Israel is to set free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The first three hostages are due to be handed over on Sunday, with media reporting that Hamas is due to name them on Saturday. All three are expected to be civilians.

In return, Israel's Justice Ministry has published a list with the names of more than 90 prisoners who are to be exchanged for the first hostages on Sunday.

Under Israeli law, relatives of terrorism victims can appeal the release of certain Palestinian prisoners. The government decision gives them 24 hours to file a petition to the Supreme Court.

However, the judges are not expected to have any reason to thwart the agreement.

Next steps

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is due to reopen under the agreement, with humanitarian aid deliveries for the Palestinians to be significantly ramped up.

The Israeli military is to withdraw from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip. Those who fled to the south of the sealed-off coastal strip should be able to move freely again and return to their former homes in northern Gaza, under international supervision.

The warring parties intend to clarify the details of the second and third phases of the agreement - aiming for a permanent end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip - during the first phase of the ceasefire.

However, it is unclear whether the deal will hold, given the deep mutual suspicion on both sides of the conflict, with many details of the agreement still to be resolved.

The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists stormed out of the coastal territory and killed some 1,200 people in southern Israeli communities.

Photo: EPA