Ynet has learned of Hamas' delay in handing over the hostage list to Israel
The transfer of the hostage list from the Palestinian Hamas movement to Israeli forces was delayed for technical reasons. This was reported by the news portal Ynet on January 19.
Earlier in the day, Al Arabiya TV channel quoted a source as saying on social network X (former Twitter) that Hamas would hand over the list to Israel within a few hours after transferring all hostages to safe areas.
According to the portal, the reason for the delay on the part of Hamas could be problems with communication, as well as with the coordination of specific locations where the hostages will be transferred. It is noted that the Israeli military continues air patrols over Gaza.
The day before, The Times of Israel reported on the upcoming January 19 release of three Israeli hostages of Hamas. Their names are expected to be released 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.
According to The Jerusalem Post, in the first stage, Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages - children, women (including military), men over 50 and "humanitarian hostages " - in exchange for 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
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 the Palestinian Hamas movement 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 IDF began preparations to implement 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.
Al Jazeera TV channel said on January 19 that the IDF began withdrawing IDF equipment from the city of Rafah in Gaza. It is specified that the retreat is taking place in the so-called Philadelphia Corridor along the southern border with Egypt.
The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.
