Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has announced that a ceasefire in Gaza has commenced at 11:15 local time (09:15 GMT). The ceasefire, originally slated to begin at 08:30 (06:30 GMT) on Sunday, faced a slight delay due to delays in receiving the list of hostages from Hamas. Nevertheless, preparations are underway for the ceasefire to take effect. As part of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas has identified three Israeli hostages it intends to release first: 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, 28-year-old Emily Damari, and 24-year-old Romi Gonen. The ongoing violence leading up to the ceasefire approval over the last week has been deadly, with reports indicating that Israeli airstrikes killed at least 71 people on 16 January in Gaza just hours after the ceasefire was announced. Moreover, on Sunday 19 January, at least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 25 others injured in Israeli attacks across various areas of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Civil Defense Department reported that the casualties included victims targeted by Israeli quadcopter drones, with three fatalities occurring in an airstrike on Gaza City. The ongoing war on Gaza, which began on 7 October, 2023, has resulted…
