Gaza ceasefire to take effect today

The ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will begin on Sunday morning, mediator Qatar said, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to bring back “all the hostages” held in the Palestinian territory.

“Based on the agreement between the parties … the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30am on Sunday. We advise our brothers to take precautions, exercise the utmost caution, and await instructions from official sources,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari announced in a post on X on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli government ratified the agreement after meeting for more than six hours, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a brief statement.

But hours before the ceasefire is due to go into effect, Netanyahu says the Gaza ceasefire agreement may be temporary and Israel retains the right to resume Gaza fighting. “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways, Netanyahu said in a video statement on Saturday – his first speech since the ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday.

Netanyahu said he has support from both the Biden and Trump administrations. “President Trump and President Biden have given full backing to Israel’s right to return to combat if Israel concludes that negotiations on Phase B are futile,” he said.

Earlier, he threatened that his country would not proceed with the ceasefire until it receives a list of the 33 captives who are expected to be released in the first phase of the deal.

The deal was approved after more than 460 days of war in which Israeli forces killed more than 46,788 Palestinians and wounded 110,453. It would see the release of 33 captives held in Gaza over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

(With inputs from Al Jazeera)