Netanyahu says that the ceasefire in Gaza cannot begin without the names of the hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that a new ceasefire agreement with Hamas in the Gaza Strip will not begin if the Palestinian terrorist organization fails to provide a list of three hostages to be released on Sunday.

A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip agreed by Israel and Hamas was expected to take effect at 8:30 am (0630 GMT) on Sunday morning.

On Saturday evening Netanyahu had said that, without a list of names of hostages, Israel would not continue to implement the agreement approved by his government earlier in the day.

On Sunday, The Times of Israel cited Netanyahu's office as saying that the prime minister had conducted an overnight security assessment of the delay and that Netanyahu had instructed the military that the ceasefire “will not begin until Israel has a list of hostages to be released. Hamas has promised to provide it.”

According to Israeli reports, Hamas cited “technical reasons” for the delay.