Middle East latest: Gaza ceasefire set to start 8:30 am Sunday after 15 months of war
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) on Sunday, mediator Qatar said.
The ceasefire will pause the fighting after 15 months of war and see the release of dozens of hostages held by the militants in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Israel's Cabinet approved the deal early on Saturday; the ceasefire will see the first hostages released.
Brokered by mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt in months of indirect talks between the warring sides, the ceasefire is the second truce achieved in the devastating conflict.
The Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel killed some 1,200 people and left some 250 others captive. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half the dead.
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Here's the latest:
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel's far-right Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he and most of his party would resign from the government over opposition to the ceasefire deal that begins Sunday morning.
He plans to submit his letter of resignation on Sunday morning. The ceasefire goes into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time.
Ben-Gvir called the deal “reckless.” His resignation does not bring down the government or derail the ceasefire deal, but the move destabilizes the government at a delicate moment and could eventually lead to its collapse if Ben-Gvir were joined by other key Netanyahu allies.
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning that a ceasefire can’t go forward on Sunday unless Israel receives the list of names of hostages to be released from Gaza as agreed.
Israel had expected to receive the names by 4 p.m. local time Saturday, now more than three hours ago. Netanyahu in a statement says that “Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement.”
Hamas was to give the names to mediator Qatar. There is no immediate Qatar response to questions. There is no immediate Hamas response, either.
JERUSALEM — A senior Israeli military official says Palestinians will not be able to cross the Netzarim corridor that runs across central Gaza for the first seven days of the ceasefire that’s set to start on Sunday.
Israel currently occupies the Netzarim corridor, from the sea to the border with Israel. Israel is to begin withdrawing on Day 7 but the official did not give details on what happens after that. The official spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday in line with military regulations.
Much of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the war, and many Palestinians are keen to return to what’s left of their homes.
— By Josef Federman
CAIRO — The Egyptian foreign minister says the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will start operating “soon” as officials prepare for a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of the ceasefire set to take effect on Sunday.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty did not specify when exactly the crossing will open. The crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world, has been closed since the Israeli army took over the area last May.
Abdelatty said 600 trucks of aid should be entering Gaza daily during the ceasefire, including 50 fuel trucks.
TEL AVIV, Israel — An organization that represents victims of Palestinian attacks vowed to petition Israel’s Supreme Court to stop the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire agreement starting Sunday, calling it a “victory for the murderers.”
“They are releasing terrorists who have blood on their hands for the second time, and this means (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, under pressure from (President-elect Donald) Trump, is endangering people who will be murdered in the future,” said Meir Indor, the head of the Almagor Terror Victim Association.
Indor added that Israel has not learned its lesson from the past three prisoner exchanges, which all led to released prisoners carrying out new attacks.
Yehya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war, was released together with more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoner in a 2011 deal in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was taken from his tank in Gaza and held captive for five years.
Indor said that it was an additional insult that the negotiations did not leave the typical 48-hour window for victims of attacks to appeal the release of specific prisoners who attacked them.
BEIRUT — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza once the ceasefire takes effect Sunday will be facing many obstacles.
Guterres told reporters in Beirut Saturday that the challenges of aid distribution include gangs that are “looting systematically the convoys” as well as the total degradation of Gaza and its infrastructure.
Guterres said there are limited number of trucks at the present in Gaza “so a lot of actions are necessary in order to make the distribution fully effective.”
He said that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that will end the fighting as of Sunday morning makes it clear that there wouldn’t be any impediments by Israel for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
Guterres said the distribution will be carried out by the U.N. and its partners as well as the private sector and other initiatives.
"It is clear that there is an obligation by Israel of not creating any obstacles,” Guterres said.
He added: “It is clear that the situation in Gaza is still extremely complex and a lot of difficulties still remain for an effective distribution.”
TEL AVIV, Israel — One person was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack in central Tel Aviv on Saturday afternoon, Israel police said.
A passerby shot the attacker and he was in critical condition, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency rescue services.
Police did not identify the attacker but believe the stabbing was a terrorist act. Palestinians have carried out scores of shooting, stabbing and car-ramming attacks against Israelis across Israel and the occupied West Bank, especially during the past 15 months of the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel has launched near-nightly military raids across the territory that frequently trigger gunbattle with militants. There has also been a sharp rise in attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers, leading the United States to impose sanctions. The attack comes after Houthi rebels launched two missiles towards Israel on Saturday.
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is a “hopeful development” but also warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a “long record” of violating ceasefire agreements.
“Everyone should do their part to prevent a return to the past in Gaza, and constant pressure should be put on Israel,” Erdogan said at a ruling party congress on Saturday.
Erdogan also addressed Turkey’s relationship with the new Syrian administration and praising its “inclusive“ approach.
“We will provide all kinds of support so that Syria can become whole, strong, and prosperous again,” Erdogan said.
JERUSALEM — Yemen-based Houthi rebels said they fired a ballistic missile targeting Israel's defense ministry.
The missile triggered sirens in central Israel early Saturday. Israel’s military said there was minor damage from falling shrapnel.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been firing projectiles at Israel and at vessels on the crucial Red Sea shipping corridor in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has responded with repeated strikes against what it calls Houthi infrastructure at ports in Yemen and in the rebel-controlled capital, Sanaa.
Israel’s military later Saturday reported another launch from Yemen that set off sirens in southern Israel, with no reported injuries.
TEL AVIV, Israel — The family of Kfir Bibas, the youngest hostage kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, marked his second birthday on Saturday, a day before a ceasefire is expected to go into effect.
Kfir was less than nine months old when he was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his brother Ariel, now 5, and parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas. It is unknown if the family is still alive.
In December 2023, Hamas claimed that Shiri Bibas and her two sons had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza. Yarden Bibas, who was kidnapped separately, was filmed being informed of their deaths. Israel dismissed the Hamas claim and said the video of Yarden Bibas was “psychological terror,” but there have been no signs of the family since.
Kfir, with red hair and a toothless smile, has been in captivity for almost two thirds of his life and has become a symbol across Israel for the helplessness and anger over the hostages’ plight.
“In our worst nightmares, we never thought we would reach this day,” Yifat Zailer, the cousin of Shiri Bibas, said earlier this week.
Last year on his birthday, the family marked what they called “ the saddest birthday in the world.” This year on his birthday, the family commissioned copies of the pink elephant Kfir is clutching in his hands in the famous hostage photo that has been posted around the world, in hopes that when he comes home they will be able to bring him his favorite toy.
The entire Bibas family is expected to be released in the first six weeks of the ceasefire, according to lists obtained by the Associated Press. In the first stage, 33 hostages will be released in exchange for approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, though it is unclear how many of the 33 hostages are still alive.
KAFR NIEMA, West Bank — Ahead of the first day of the ceasefire, some Palestinians in the West Bank prepare to welcome home their relatives. Some have spent years in Israeli prisons.
Earlier this week Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list of the names of 95 Palestinian prisoners set to be released on Sunday. Most of them are accused of crimes such as incitement, vandalism, supporting terror activities or attempted murder.
In the village of Kafr Niema in the West Bank, the Ataya family is hoping to mark their son’s birthday on Sunday with his release.
“He will turn 19 and begin his 20th year. It will be a celebration of both a new year of his life and God willing, his release,” said his father, Nasser Ataya.
His son, Osama’s name is on the list. He was arrested after the war broke out in October 2023, accused of conducting terror activities, said his father.
Israel’s Prison Services says it will carry out the transportation of the prisoners when they’re released, rather than the International Red Cross, to avoid “public expressions of joy.”
The lists of prisoners are published to also allow members of the public to petition Israeli courts against the release of a specific prisoner. They can submit petitions up until the prisoners are released on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Justice Ministry said.
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani says his country wants to “restore its seat” in the Cairo-based Arab League and participate in the next Arab summit scheduled later this year in Iraq.
Al-Shibani held a joint press conference with Hossam Zaki, the league’s deputy chief, who was on an official visit to Damascus.
The Arab League’s readmitted Syria in 2023, after shunning it for 12 years because of a brutal crackdown by then-President Bashar Assad against demonstrators.
Syria’s new authority is currently led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group
Al-Shibani called on Arab countries to help with the reconstruction process, especially in infrastructure sectors. He added that Damascus was open to investments to boost Syria’s economy.
He also said Syria will work with Arab countries to guarantee stability in the region.
BEIRUT — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the international community will back Lebanon “for what we believe will be a speedy recovery of this country, making it again the center of the Middle East.”
Guterres met on Saturday in Beirut with Lebanon’s newly elected President Joseph Aoun.
Lebanon had been without a president for 26 months, part of the country's internal divisions. Guterres said that naming a president and prime minister makes it possible to consolidate the Lebanese institutions and to deploy the Lebanese army across the country, including areas from where Israeli troops will withdraw.
“As soon as the conflict ends, reconstruction begins,” Guterres said.
The U.S.-brokered 60-day ceasefire is an attempt to end the Israel-Hezbollah war that has killed more than 4,000 people and wounded over 16,000 in Lebanon.
Part of the deal is that Hezbollah will pull out from the border area with Israel and only Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers can have armed presence along the Israeli border.
Lebanese leaders asked Guterres to help repatriate Syrian refugees after a new authority took over power in Damascus.
A country of about 6 million people, Lebanon hosts nearly 780,000 registered Syrian refugees and hundreds of thousands who are unregistered — the world’s highest refugee population per capita.
BEIRUT — Naim Kassem said the Palestinian people's sacrifices aborted Israel’s attempts to erase “the Palestinian cause.”
In comments aired on the Lebanese militant group's Al-Manar TV, he also said Lebanon's government has to firmly prevent Israeli violations of the U.S.-brokered 60-day truce aiming to end the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.
Kassem said Israel violated the truce hundreds of times since it went into effect on Nov. 27, warning that Hezbollah’s patience “should not be tested.”
Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s opponents in Lebanon have been calling for the disarmament of the group saying only Lebanese state institutions should have weapons.
Kassem said the group’s weapons should be part of a national defense strategy that is discussed in a national dialogue and warned that no Lebanese side should try to take advantage of the Israel war to make gains internally.
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.
JERUSALEM — 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 p.m. 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.
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