GAZA: Jonathan Whittall, interim chief of the UN’s OCHA aid agency for the Palestinian territories, had taken to the X to inform that the first trucks of supplies have commenced entering Gaza.
“A ceasefire finally came into effect in Gaza at 11.15 today. First trucks of supplies started entering just 15 minutes later. A massive effort has been underway over the past days from humanitarian partners to load and prepare to distribute a surge of aid across all of Gaza”, informed Johathan Whittall.
Earlier. UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) has informed on 19th Jan that 4000 truckloads of aid (2000 filled with food) were ready to enter Gaza.
Ceasefire has begun:
Mediator Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed, by means of Social Media, that: “…the names of three hostages who will be released today (19th Jan, 2025) have been handed over to the Israeli side. These are three Israeli citizens, one of whom holds Romanian citizenship and the other British citizenship. Thus, the ceasefire has begun!”
The first three Israeli female hostages are expected to be freed later – Hamas has named them as 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, and 24-year-old Romi Gonen.
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It may be recalled that PM Netanyahu, while addressing the nation on 18th January, said that Israel reserved the right to return to war if ceasefire’s second stage was unsuccessful.
Saying that he was proud to be the leader of Israel overseeing the historic Gaza ceasefire deal, the PM said that US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump had fully backed the objective of the war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Trump would ensure that Israel had all the weapons and ammunition enabling it to recommence the war if needed. He spoke of successes of the military campaign over the last 15 months.
PM Netanyahu, maintaining that Israel had changed the face of the Middle East, claimed that Hamas was now completely alone. According to him, in the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, Israel was able to get them to agree on conditions that they had not agreed to in the past. Meanwhile, mediator Egypt informed that in the first (42-day) phase of Gaza Truce, Israel would release 1,890 Palestinians in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages.
The Gaza Ceasefire will begin on Sunday at 6.30 GMT. PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau confirmed that the Deal on Ceasefire-Hostage with Hamas had been accepted by the Israeli Security Cabinet here on 17th Jan, 2025.
Following the acceptance of the Deal on Ceasefire-Hostage by the Security Cabinet, the Israeli Justice Ministry had published the names of 95 Palestinian women and children to be released in the first phase. Following 15-months long Hamas-Israel war the Deal on Ceasefire-Hostage in the Strip had been duly closed on 15th Jan yet since then 116 people have been killed in Gaza.
Hamas (that attacked Israel on 7th Oct 2023, killed 1200 and took 251 hostage), had accepted the truce after 46,876 Gazans died due to retaliatory aerial bombing. Hamas had earlier released 100 hostages through parleys and prisoner swaps with Israel. According to UN, 90% of the population of Gaza had been internally displaced.
The Deal:
1) Creation of a buffer zone along the border;
2) Presence of Israeli military within the buffer zone along the border;
3) Exchange of 20 Palestinian prisoners for every female Israeli soldier released;
4) 96 Israeli hostages would be released in stages (many of them are believed to be dead);
5) Gazans would be able to return to the north;
6) 500 trucks would bring aid into the strip;
7) Gaza would be overseen by a committee of technocrats from the enclave (sans previous political affiliations).
It is pertinent to mention here that Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas has said that the Palestinian Authority was ready to assume full responsibility in post-war Gaza i.e: Return of the displaced, providing basic services, crossings management and reconstruction of the war-torn territory.
Meanwhile, Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, calling on Jerusalem to allow UN peacekeepers operate sans obstruction voiced profound concern over the augmenting threats faced by them.
Newspakistan.tv
