Ceasefire in Gaza to begin early Sunday

The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET) on Sunday, according to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry. 

“We advise the inhabitants to take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official sources,” Majed Al-Ansari, Qatari Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote on X.

Qatar is among the nations that have helped to mediate the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli Ministry of Justice has published a list of Palestinian prisoners set to be released during several phases of the cease-fire, which is due to begin Sunday morning.

737 Palestinian prisoners are set to be released. 1,167 Palestinians who were arrested in Gaza during the war but did not participate in the Oct. 7 attacks, will also be released. 

A statement released Saturday by the Israel Ministry of Justice notes that the release of prisoners in the first wave will not be carried out before Sunday at 4:00 p.m. local time.

A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force, the Israel Defense Forces said, after sirens sounded across central Israel.

There have been no reports of rocket impacts or injuries, says Israel’s emergency services, Magen David Adom, after red alert sirens sounded in areas across central Israel.

It notes a few cases of people “who fell while heading to protected areas.”

A rare burst of sirens rang out in Tel Aviv and across Israel just now.

In central Israel, explosions could be heard. People in Tel Aviv were seen running across the street for cover and cars came to a halt as the sirens blared.

Israel has a robust missile defense system known as the Iron Dome to intercept aerial attacks, with sirens also alerting residents to aerial strikes.

Early Saturday, Israel’s full Cabinet signed off on the ceasefire deal that is set to see the release of dozens of hostages and bring fighting in Gaza to an end for the first time in more than a year, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

The ceasefire and release of hostages is set to begin Sunday.

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal will go into effect too late for Akram Abu Ahmed to see his children again.

His family’s sole survivor after an Israeli airstrike, Ahmed was sleeping near Gaza City in the early hours on Thursday after celebrating news of the truce when he heard a loud sound and was thrown into the air.

“Dust and screams surrounded me,” he said, adding that his wife and three of his children were killed, including a daughter whom he said was a doctor.

“Is this what they aim for? Killing doctors?” he said. “This is the question I want you to answer, Netanyahu: Why did you kill my daughter?”

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If all goes as planned, the hostages in Gaza will get their long-awaited freedom at three kibbutzim in Israel that are close to the border of the Palestinian territory, the Israel Defense Forces announced.

“Reception points” have been established at Kerem Shalom, which is also near the Egyptian border; at Re’im, about 30 miles northeast of there; and at Erez, north of the Gaza border.

“At these reception points, the Israeli hostages will be met with IDF representatives, including liaison and welfare officers, as well as doctors, psychologists, and mental health specialists,” the IDF said.

From there, the newly freed hostages will be taken, either by helicopter or vehicle, to Israeli hospitals that have already been prepared to treat them.

“The purpose of the forward reception points is to create a gradual transition and provide initial care by professionals before the hostages are reunited with their families at the hospital,” the IDF said.

In 2023, Hamas transferred a group of 24 hostages from Gaza to Israel via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.