Ankara – Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that the ceasefire agreement for the Gaza Strip will go into effect at 8.30am local time (0630GMT) on Sunday, January 19.

Ministry spokesperson Majed al Ansari confirmed the development on X, “As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8.30am on Sunday, January 19, local time in Gaza.”

“We advise the inhabitants to take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official sources,” he added.

Israeli government approves deal in 24-8 vote

The ceasefire deal was approved by the full Israeli government in the early hours of Saturday after the smaller Security Cabinet previously issued a recommendation that the agreement be ratified.

The approval was given after hours of consultations that went well into the Jewish Sabbath, indicating the importance of the issue at stake, as the Israeli government usually halts all business for the Sabbath except in the most urgent cases.

‘The government has approved the hostage return plan,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, adding that the deal to halt the fighting with Hamas would come into effect on Sunday.

Twenty-four ministers voted for the agreement and eight voted against it.

The deal’s measures call for:

A full and complete six-week ceasefire to come into effect on Sunday.

The first three of the 33 hostages to be released under the agreement to be handed over to Israeli authorities on Sunday as well.

Israel to release 30 Palestinian prisoners held for each Israeli civilian hostage.

The Israeli military to pull troops from populated areas of Gaza and to allow 600 aid trucks into the Palestinian territory daily.

Although the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US, approval was delayed for more than a day amid alleged last-minute complications that Netanyahu blamed on Hamas. The group denied the accusations.

Israeli warplanes have kept up heavy attacks since the deal was agreed, with 119 Palestinians reportedly killed since the accord was announced.

Nearly 46,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and more than 110,600 injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Anadolu