A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza entered into force this Sunday, January 19 in the morning, with a release of hostages scheduled for a few hours later.
This Truce would mark a turning point after fifteen months of conflict having deeply upset the Middle East. However, the entry into force of the Truce, initially set at 7:30 am (French time), was delayed.
According to the cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, Hamas has not yet transmitted the list of hostages supposed to be released quickly.
Hamas has justified this delay by invoking “technical reasons”, but ended up announcing the list.
At first, Israeli forces began to withdraw from certain Rafah areas in Gaza, in the direction of the Philadelphia corridor, located along the border between Egypt and Gaza, pro-Hamas media early on Sunday.
Despite this withdrawal, the Israeli army warned the inhabitants of Gaza not to approach its troops or circulate in the Palestinian territory before the official implementation of the ceasefire.
Once the trips have been authorized, the army said it would publish “a declaration and instructions on safe transit methods”, thus guaranteeing an organized framework to avoid any incident.
