Israel-Hamas ceasefire latest: Gaza truce to come into effect Sunday morning

Israel’s Justice Ministry has published a list of over 700 Palestinian prisoners who are to be released under the ceasefire deal pausing the war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

The list came just hours after Israel’s full Cabinet approved the ceasefire deal.

The Justice Ministry said the Palestinian prisoners would be released no earlier than 4 pm. local time on Sunday, the day the exchange is set to begin. The list includes members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups, some of whom are serving lifetime sentences and are convicted of serious offenses such as murder.

The list did not appear to include Marwan Barghouti, the 64-year-old who is the highest-profile prisoner held by Israel and seen by many Palestinians as a prime candidate to become their president in the future. He was a leader in the West Bank during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.

Hamas has demanded that Israel release him as part of any ceasefire agreement, a possibility Israeli officials have ruled out.

In a press statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said they would now stop until the last of the hostages had been returned, with the first group set to be released on Sunday.

The group said: “We, the families of the 98 hostages, welcome the agreement intended to bring all hostages home.

“This represents a significant and crucial advancement that brings us closer to the moment when we will see all hostages return home—the living to rehabilitate among their families, and the deceased for proper burial.

“Today also marks Kfir Bibas’ second birthday—both of his birthdays have been spent in Hamas captivity. This unconscionable tragedy must end now. We urgently call for swift arrangements to ensure all phases of the deal are implemented, and emphasize that negotiations for the next phases must begin before day 16.

“We wish to express our profound gratitude to President-elect Trump, President Biden, both administrations, and the international mediators for making this possible.

“Now, after 470 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones. We call upon the public to attend tonight’s main rally at Hostages Square and gatherings throughout the country to demand the guarantee of returning the last hostage!”

Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Saturday that the mechanism of the release of Israeli hostages it holds in Gaza would depend on the number of Palestinian prisoners Israel would free.

In a statement, Hamas said the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released would be published one day before the exchange under terms of its ceasefire deal reached with Israel on Wednesday.

The ceasefire is set to come into effect at 8.30am local time (6.30am GMT) on Sunday, the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem congratulated Palestinians on Saturday for the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying it proved the “persistence of resistance” against Israel in his first comments since Israel and Hamas reached the accord on Wednesday.

“This deal, which was unchanged from what was proposed in May 2024, proves the persistence of resistance groups, which took what they wanted while Israel was not able to take what it sought,” the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group said in a speech.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in a conflict parallel to the Gaza war in November.

Rocket sirens have been heard in central Israel, with our chief international reporter Bel Trew reporting that they are sounding in Tel Aviv.

A statement from the IDF read: “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in a number of areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF.

“Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.”

Qatar says ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 6:30am GMT on Sunday

Under the deal, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The remainder, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.

Hamas has agreed to free three female hostages on Day 1 of the deal, four on Day 7 and the remaining 26 over the following five weeks.

Israel publishes list of more than 700 Palestinian prisoners to be released under the ceasefire deal

The Gaza ceasefire will come into effect on Sunday at 06:30am GMT, the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said in a tweet on X on Saturday.

In Gaza, Israeli warplanes have kept up heavy attacks since the ceasefire deal was agreed. Medics in Gaza said an Israeli airstrike early on Saturday killed five people in a tent in the Mawasi area west of Khan Younis in the enclave’s south.

This brought to 119 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment since the accord was announced on Wednesday.

Gaza civilians have faced a humanitarian crisis due to hunger, cold and sickness. The ceasefire agreement calls for a surge in assistance, and international organisations have aid trucks lined up on Gaza’s borders to bring in food, fuel, medicine and other vital supplies.

Palestinian relief agency UNRWA said on Friday that it has 4,000 truckloads of aid, half of which are food, ready to enter the coastal strip.

Palestinians waiting for food in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday said they hoped a truce will mean an end to hours of queuing to fill one plate.

“I hope it will happen so we’ll be able to cook in our homes and make whatever food we want, without having to go to soup kitchens and exhaust ourselves for three or four hours trying to get (food) – sometimes not even making it home,” displaced Palestinian Reeham Sheikh al-Eid said.