Doha, Jan 19 (IANS) Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al Ansari confirmed on Sunday that the Gaza ceasefire has officially begun as a list of three hostages to be released that day has been handed over to Israel.
“Regarding reports when the ceasefire will begin in Gaza, we confirm that the names of the 3 hostages to be released today have been handed over to the Israeli side. They are three Israeli citizens, one of whom is of Romanian nationality and the other of British nationality, and thus the ceasefire has begun,” Al-Ansari said in a post on X, Xinhua news agency reported.
A day earlier, Al-Ansari announced that the Gaza ceasefire would commence on Sunday, Jan. 19, at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas on Wednesday agreed on a Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal after intensive mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S.
Earlier, Egypt resumed sending humanitarian aid trucks to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the enclave after the recently reached Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement started taking effect, the Egyptian State TV reported.
An initial batch of 95 aid trucks crossed the Egyptian side of the crossing bound for Gaza, and approximately 500 more trucks will follow throughout the day, the report added, Xinhua news agency reported.
Egypt Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar and Minister of Social Solidarity Maya Morsy arrived at Arish Airport early Saturday to inspect hospitals’ readiness to receive injured Gazans and monitor final aid delivery arrangements to the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian state news agency reported.
Earlier on Friday evening, the AlQahera News Channel reported that a large number of aid trucks were lined up at the Rafah border crossing, ready to enter Gaza. The trucks are reported to carry tens of thousands of essential food items for Gaza’s residents.
Arish, along with its airport in North Sinai, serves as a hub for receiving and transporting international relief aid into Gaza.
Aid deliveries have been disrupted since May 2024, when Israeli forces occupied the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing.
Qatar announced a three-phase ceasefire agreement late Wednesday evening to end more than 15 months of deadly Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Nearly 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and more than 110,700 injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
–IANS
int/dan
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