Key events
Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. It’s 7.22am in Tel Aviv and Gaza City and we are under 90 minutes away from the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas being scheduled to come into effect at 8.30am local time (6.30am GMT) on Sunday.
Here’s a recap of the latest news.
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Israeli forces have started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, Reuters has cited pro-Hamas media as reporting early on Sunday.
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Under the ceasefire agreement, the three-stage truce starts with an initial six-week phase when hostages held by the militant group will be exchanged for Palestinians detained in jails across Israel.
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Benjamin Netanyahu said the first stage of the deal was temporary, adding: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways.” The prime minister added that both Donald Trump and Joe Biden back Israel’s “right to resume fighting if the second stage is fruitless”. Netanyahu also said Israel would not go ahead with the ceasefire deal until it received a list of the 33 hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the deal’s first phase. “Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. The sole responsibility lies with Hamas.”
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Hamas said on Saturday that the mechanism of the release of Israeli hostages it held in Gaza would depend on the number of detained Palestinians Israel would free. Hamas also said Israel had “failed to achieve its aggressive goals” in Gaza.
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Israeli forces have killed at least 46,899 Palestinians and injured 110,725 since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in an update on Saturday. It said 23 Palestinians were killed and 83 were injured over the past 24 hours.
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Yemen’s Houthis claimed an attack on a US aircraft carrier on Sunday and warned of “consequences” for any retaliation during the coming Gaza ceasefire. The Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday. The military activated air raid sirens in Jerusalem and in parts of central and southern Israel ahead of the interceptions.
