Netanyahu's office says the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has come into effect

The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip came into force at 12:15 Moscow time on January 19. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"In accordance with the hostage release agreement, the first phase ceasefire in the Gaza Strip comes into effect at 11:15 (12:15 Moscow time)," the statement said, quoted by The Jerusalem Post.

The agreement was due to take effect at 8:30 a.m. local time (9:30 Moscow time) but was delayed because Hamas failed to provide the names of the hostages. Israel shelled the Gaza Strip again in the morning, with at least eight people killed in the strikes.

On January 19, Netanyahu said that the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip can only become effective when Israel receives a list of hostages to be released from the Palestinian Hamas movement. Hamas, for its part, said that the delay in providing the list was due to technical reasons.

The movement later handed the mediators a list of Israeli hostages to be released on Sunday. It was reported that the list included three girls.

Earlier, on January 15, it became known that a ceasefire agreement had been reached in Gaza. The next day, the Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began preparations to implement the agreement.

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.