Media reported on the upcoming Jan. 19 release of three Israeli hostages by Hamas

The Palestinian movement Hamas will release three Israeli hostages on Sunday, January 19, as part of its ceasefire agreement with Israel in the Gaza Strip. The Times of Israel reported on January 18.

"The agreement will take effect on Sunday when the first three Israeli hostages are released. A total of 33 hostages are to be released during the first 42-day phase of the deal," the publication said.

The names of the first three Hamas hostages are expected to be named today, as the deal calls for names to be provided 24 hours before the release, the publication explained.

According to the agreement, the first Israelis to be released should be mostly women, children, the disabled and the elderly.

It is noted that the Israeli Ministry of Justice, in turn, compiled and published a list of 735 Palestinian prisoners who will be released in the first phase of the agreement. The list includes those serving life sentences for murder and Hamas members in Israeli prisons.

Aceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin to take effect on the morning of January 19, as agreed upon by both sides and mediators. The Israeli government approved the agreement with Palestinian Hamas on January 17 following a six-hour meeting.

The Gaza ceasefire agreement was announced on January 15. The next day, the Ministry of Defense and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began preparations for the implementation of the agreement. In particular, the State Defense Ministry's Directorate of Checkpoints and the Design Department will be involved in the implementation of the deal in order to speed up logistics.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when Hamas subjected Israeli territory to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.