update: A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has been delayed because Hamas did not submit a list of hostages to be released as stipulated in the agreement.
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is officially set to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET) Saturday. In addition, three of the 33 people scheduled to be released in the “first phase” of the hostage deal were scheduled to be released later Sunday.
All three hostages scheduled for release are believed to be women, but Hamas did not provide Israel with a definitive list of those scheduled for release. This is a violation of the agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to tear up the deal if Hamas did not comply with its terms.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) issued a statement at 9:12 a.m. local time.
This morning, we are all looking forward to the fulfillment of the agreement that the hostages will be returned. As of this morning, Hamas has not fulfilled its obligations and has not provided the State of Israel with the names of the returned female hostages, contrary to the agreement. The ceasefire will not come into effect unless Hamas fulfills its obligations. Under the Prime Minister's instructions, the Israel Defense Forces will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip unless Hamas fulfills its obligations.
In response to this statement, the Israel Defense Forces announced at 9:39 a.m. local time that it had launched an attack on targets in the Gaza Strip.
Under the deal, which may still ultimately take effect, Israel would withdraw from some positions in the Gaza Strip, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would withdraw from some positions in the Gaza Strip along the strategic Philadelphia Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border. He said he has no intention of relinquishing control.
In his national address on Saturday night, Prime Minister Netanyahu told Israelis: “In the agreement, we promised that Israel would maintain full control of the security of the Philadelphia Corridor and the entire Gaza Strip. We will not tolerate the smuggling of war materials, and we will not tolerate the smuggling of hostages.”
Israel also agreed to release more than 1,900 Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons during the six-week agreement period.
update: Hamas claimed late Sunday morning that it had provided Israel with a list of three female hostages to be released. Their names have not yet been released.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
This article has been updated to reflect any failures or delays in the ceasefire.