It took more than a year to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, and as the final minutes ticked away before it went into effect on Sunday morning, the deal was still shrouded in doubt.
Under the terms of the agreement reached last week, Hamas was to provide the Israeli government with the names of the three hostages it will release. But at 8:30 a.m. local time, or 1:30 a.m. Eastern, when the ceasefire began, Israel said those names had not been officially delivered.
Hamas said the delay was due to technical reasons, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office ordered the Israeli military not to proceed with preparations to start the ceasefire until word had been received.
The Israeli military also warned Gazans not to approach certain areas where Israeli forces are stationed.
While the delay occurred, Israel's attack on Gaza continued. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli army's chief spokesman, issued a statement on television at 8:30 a.m., saying that the army would continue to attack Gaza as long as the ceasefire did not come into effect. A spokesman for the Israeli army, who did not want to be named, confirmed that it had struck Gaza after the first proposed ceasefire period.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense, an emergency organization in Gaza, said in a statement about an hour later that Israeli bombardment continued in many areas. He will eventually say that Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 19 people and wounded more than thirty-two across Gaza during the delay, a figure that cannot be independently verified.
At Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, people heard the sounds of Israeli drones, strikes and artillery fire, said Ghada al-Kurd, 37. “The situation is still dangerous,” he said in a message.
Then at around 10:30 am local time, Hamas announced the names of the three Israeli hostages it will release on Sunday. Soon the office of Mr. Netanyahu confirmed the information and said the ceasefire would begin at 11:15 am local time – about three hours later than planned.
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