Ceasefire Takes Effect After 471 Days of War; 1 of 3 Hostages Set For Release Identified Hamas announces it will release Romi Gonen and two other hostages * Israel’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party has resigned from the coalition * This is a developing story By Simcha Pasko/The Media Line Following 471 days of war, a […]
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The Media Line: Ceasefire Takes Effect After 471 Days of War; 1 of 3 Hostages Set For Release Identified
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Ceasefire Takes Effect After 471 Days of War; 1 of 3 Hostages Set For Release Identified
Hamas announces it will release Romi Gonen and two other hostages * Israel’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party has resigned from the coalition * This is a developing story
By Simcha Pasko/The Media Line
Following 471 days of war, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, shortly after the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced it had received the list of hostages that the Gaza governing group would release, following days of delays. One of the hostages named for release was Romi Gonen, 24, who was taken hostage by Hamas from the Nova festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Earlier in the day, Hamas had cited “technical reasons” for failing to provide the names on time, a requirement under the deal. Shortly after the ceasefire planned for 8:30 a.m. failed to take effect, Israeli fighter jets began striking targets in Gaza, killing eight in the process, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The IDF confirmed the strikes, citing Hamas’ initial failure to meet its obligations under the agreement. According to the IDF, airstrikes were targeting undisclosed locations in Gaza, with additional details to be provided later.
Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his far-right Otzma Yehudit party resigned from the governing coalition Sunday morning, following through on his earlier promise to leave if the ceasefire and hostage deal were approved. Ben-Gvir, along with Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and Negev, Galilee, and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, submitted their resignation letters to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “From this time onwards, the Otzma Yehudit party is not a member of the coalition,” the party stated.
In his resignation letter, Ben-Gvir praised his “significant achievements” under Netanyahu but condemned the ceasefire as a “surrender-to-terror deal.” Calling the agreement “a complete victory for terrorism,” Ben-Gvir declared that his party would not return to the coalition unless Israel achieves “a complete victory against Hamas and the full realization of the war’s goals.” This leaves Israel’s governing coalition, often called the furthest-right in the country’s history, with 62 members out of the 120-seat parliament.
This is a developing story…