Mediator Qatar Confirms Israel Claims Gaza Ceasefire Agreement Is in Effect | WPN World People News

Israel announced that the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect at 9:15 a.m. GMT on November 19 (5:15 p.m. Taiwan time) after receiving a list of hostages Hamas plans to release. Mediator Qatar also confirmed that the agreement has been implemented.

Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, taking numerous hostages. After months of negotiations, Israel and Hamas finally reached a ceasefire agreement through mediation by Qatar, the United States, and Egypt. Under the first phase of the 42-day truce, 33 hostages will be released from Gaza and returned home. In exchange, Israel will release approximately 1,900 Palestinian detainees.

The ceasefire was originally scheduled to take effect at 6:30 a.m. GMT (8:30 a.m. local time) on November 19. However, disputes over the initial list of hostages to be released on the first day delayed the agreement's implementation by nearly three hours. Local civil defense agencies reported that Israeli airstrikes resulted in 19 deaths and 25 injuries prior to the ceasefire.

On November 19, Qatar confirmed that the ceasefire agreement had been initiated. It also stated that some of the initial three hostages Hamas planned to release held foreign citizenship. Meanwhile, Hamas indicated that it was awaiting a list of "90 women and children" to be released by Israel on the first day of the truce. While the ceasefire aims to pave the way for a permanent end to the conflict, the second phase of the truce has yet to be finalized.