Hamas / Israel Conflict…Day 464…Waiting…..

Three hostages were set to be released by Hamas on Sunday and 30 more through the rest of the first phase of the deal. As of Saturday evening local time, Hamas had yet to release the names of the first hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will not proceed with the deal unless the names were released, as agreed by both parties.

The hostages are to be transferred by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which said in a statement it was “ready and willing to undertake all required aspects of this operation.” The Red Cross will then hand over the hostages to the IDF within Gaza.

The IDF has prepared three locations on the border with Gaza for the hostages to be transferred by helicopter to hospitals, the IDF official said.

Israel is to release more than 730 Palestinian prisoners and detainees — mostly from the West Bank — and over 1,100 Gaza residents held by Israel, according to a list and government resolution released by Israel’s Justice Ministry on Friday.

Palestinian officials and the Israeli military warned Gazans to exercise caution even after the ceasefire begins. The IDF advised Gazans against approaching its soldiers, some of whom are to remain in the enclave during the first phase of the ceasefire. It also told them not to swim or fish along the coastline, but did not elaborate.

Gazan officials, meanwhile, warned of the hazards people could face when returning to what’s left of their homes, including corpses, unexploded bombs and toxic waste.

The ceasefire is expected to allow for a surge in humanitarian aid. Gazans have for months suffered shortages of potable water, food and medical supplies under an Israeli siege.

Here’s what else to know:

• According to Israeli officials, 94 of the 251 hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023, remain in Gaza, including 60 who are believed to still be alive. There are four other hostages — two of whom are still thought to be alive — who have been held in Gaza since before the war began.
• Netanyahu said President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump gave Israel “full backing” to resume fighting if it feels negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire are “futile.” He also intends to increase the IDF’s presence in the Philadelphi corridor, he said in remarks Saturday.
• The deal does not outline a governing arrangement for the Gaza Strip, but Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority — which governs part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank — said the P.A. was ready to “assume full responsibility” of governing Gaza. Abbas’s Fatah party, a Hamas rival, said the militant group’s continued entrenchment in Gaza posed a risk to carrying out the agreement fully.
• Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday canceled administrative detention orders against West Bank settlers and ordered their immediate release, ahead of the expected release of Palestinian prisoners. Katz said he was sending “a clear message of support and encouragement to the settlement movement.” The Biden administration has imposed sanctionson extremist settler groups in the occupied West Bank over acts of violence against civilians.
• At least 46,899 people have been killed and 110,725 injured during the war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s October 2023 attack, including more than 300 soldiers. It says 405 soldiers have been killed during its military operation in Gaza…..

More…

The Israeli government approved the Israel-Hamas ceasefire-hostage deal on January 18. The ceasefire will go into effect at 1:30AM ET on January 19 and the release of Israeli hostages will start at 9:30AM ET on January 19. Unspecified security sources cited by Israeli Army Radio stated that Israel estimates that 25 out of the 33 hostages Hamas will release in the first phase of the deal are alive. Hamas is expected to release three hostages on January 19 and release the other 30 hostages every subsequent Saturday until March 1.

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Civilian injured in Tel Aviv stabbing attack, police say

A civilian was injured in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, police in the city have said.

According to police, a preliminary investigation shows a “terrorist” armed with a knife entered a restaurant and stabbed a civilian, who was “seriously injured.”

An armed civilian nearby shot and “neutralized” the perpetrator, police said.

Itai Atias, a spokesperson for Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA), said the victim, who was in his late 20s, suffered from a stab wound to his upper body, adding that he has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and is in “moderate” condition.