Israel on Sunday said a truce with Hamas began in Gaza at 0915 GMT, nearly three hours after initially scheduled, following a last-minute delay on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During the delay, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed eight people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier warned on Sunday that a ceasefire in Gaza would not commence unless Hamas provided a list of hostages to be released, with the militant group saying the delay was due to “technical reasons.”
Hamas said it was “affirming its commitment” to the terms of the ceasefire.
In a statement, the group said that the delay in providing the names of those to be released in the first batch is due to technical reasons.
Late on Saturday, Netanyahu had warned that the swap of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages on Sunday would not happen unless the list of captives was provided.
He also said that Israel reserved the right to resume the war “if necessary,” with the United States’ support and that the current ceasefire was “temporary.”
