CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will come into effect in less than 24 hours, announced Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, Majid al-Ansari.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Al-Ansari indicated that the ceasefire will begin at 8:30 in the morning on Sunday and advised the population to act cautiously when it comes into effect and to wait for instructions from the authorities.
The Israeli government approved early Saturday morning the ceasefire agreement in Gaza that will allow the release of dozens of hostages and pause the 15-month war with Hamas, bringing the two rival sides closer to the end of their deadliest and most destructive confrontation to date.
Despite the news about the ceasefire, anti-aircraft sirens sounded throughout central Israel on Saturday and the Army reported the interception of projectiles launched from Yemen. The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have intensified their missile attacks in recent weeks. The insurgent group claims that the attacks are part of a campaign to pressure Israel and the West over the war in the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip also continued. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that at least 23 people died in the last day.
According to the agreement, in the next six weeks, 33 hostages held in the Strip will be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remaining hostages, including the soldiers, will be released in a second phase to be negotiated during the first phase. Hamas has stated that they will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israel from the besieged enclave.
The agreement, approved by the Israeli government and signed by the country's national security advisor, stipulates that the prisoner exchange will begin at four o'clock on Sunday afternoon. Israel will release the Palestinian prisoners once the Israeli hostages have arrived safely.
According to the plan, in the first phase, around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages, both alive and deceased. Among the prisoners, 1,167 are residents of Gaza who were detained by Israel but were not involved in the events of October 7th. All Gazan women and minors under the age of 19 detained by Israel will be released in this phase.
All Palestinian prisoners convicted of deadly attacks will be exiled, either to Gaza or abroad, and will be prohibited from returning to Israel or the West Bank. Some will have to leave for three years and others permanently, according to the document.
There are still key questions remaining about the ceasefire - the second one reached during the war - including the names of the 33 hostages who will be released and which of them are still alive.
Hamas agreed to release three women on the first day of the ceasefire, four on the seventh day, and the remaining 26 in the following five weeks.
Israeli authorities, for their part, will release Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli Ministry of Justice published a list of over 700 prisoners who will regain their freedom in the first phase, stating that the operation will not begin before 4 p.m. on Sunday. All prisoners on the first phase list are young people or women.
Additionally, during the first phase, Israeli troops will withdraw to a security zone approximately one kilometer (0.6 miles) wide within Gaza, along the border with Israel.
This will allow the displaced to return to their homes, including in the city of Gaza and in the northern Strip. With the majority of the population forced to stay in large, unhealthy tent camps, Palestinians are desperate to return to their homes, although many were destroyed or suffered serious damage in the Israeli campaign.
The largely devastated territory should also see an increase in the arrival of humanitarian aid. Trucks loaded with aid lined up on Friday on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. On Saturday, two Egyptian ministers arrived in the Sinai Peninsula in the north to oversee preparations for the distribution of supplies and receive evacuated wounded, according to the Minister of Health.
Hamas triggered the war with its cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and left about 250 hostages. Nearly a hundred remain captive in Gaza.
Israel responded with a devastating campaign that has claimed the lives of more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. Although their count does not distinguish between civilian and combatant victims, health authorities claim that more than half of the deceased are women and children.