Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Gaza ceasefire will not go ahead until Hamas provides a list of the first hostages it plans to release. Follow live.
Key Events
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BREAKING: Hamas names first hostages for release
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Israeli military strikes northern Gaza
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What we're expecting to happen today
BREAKING: Hamas names first hostages for release
Hamas has named three Israeli hostages for release later this afternoon, once a ceasefire takes hold.
Israel had criticised Hamas for not providing the details, and announced it would delay the ceasefire coming into force as a result.
It was due to begin at 8.30am local time, which was 5.30pm Australian eastern daylight time.
The three hostages are 24-year-old Romi Gonen, 28-year-old British Israeli Emily Damari, and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher
The initial list of 33 hostages slated for release had been drafted by Israel, but Hamas is meant to alert authorities prior to returning hostages in smaller groups of three or four at a time.
There is no word on what this announcement from Hamas means for the start of the ceasefire.
BREAKING: Hardline minister quits government
(Reuters: Oren Ben Hakoon)
Hardline minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has made good on his promise to quit the Netanyahu government if the ceasefire deal were to be ratified.
He was the government's national security minister and the head of the Jewish Power party, a member of the governing coalition.
Last week he formally announced he would quit if the deal was agreed to, calling the agreement between Israel and Hamas a "surrender".
Reuters is now reporting he has left the government.
Hamas has supplied hostage names to Israel: reports
Israeli media is reporting that Hamas has supplied the names of the three hostages it plans to release later today.
Hamas's failure to do this by 8:30am on Sunday (5:30pm AEDT) had been cited by Israeli PM and the country's military as the reason it had continued bombing Gaza after the ceasefire deadline passed.
It remains to be seen if the attacks will now stop.
Translation of IDF spokesperson's update
Israel's military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari provided an update at 8:30am on Sunday, local time (as the ceasefire was supposed to be starting).
He said it was no longer going ahead as planned.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari is the IDF spokesman. (Supplied)
A lot of what Hagari said at the start of his briefing was about how commandos had captured and repatriated the body of an IDF soldier who was killed in Gaza in 2014.
At the end of his briefing, he spoke about the ceasefire. This is what he said:
"The IDF is deeply committed to returning all hostages. The IDF and ISA will continue to make every effort to bring all the hostages home, whether through operational and intelligence actions or as part of the agreement.
"This morning, we all expect the implementation of the agreement to return the hostages. As of this morning, Hamas has not fulfilled its obligation, and contrary to the agreement, has not provided the State of Israel with the names of the returning female hostages. The ceasefire will not come into effect so long as Hamas does not fulfill its obligations. At the direction of the Prime Minister, the IDF will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip area as long as Hamas does not fulfill its obligations, with all that this entails."
Confusion in Gaza as ceasefire deadline passes
In Gaza, police and health workers performed the national anthem as the 8:30am ceasefire deadline passed, unaware that Israel had just pledged to continue its attacks amid a dispute with Hamas over hostages.
Police and medial workers perform the national anthem. (Telegram: QudsN)
In pictures: Scenes as a ceasefire snags
An Israeli tank patrols on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border. (Reuters: Amir Cohen)
A displaced Palestinian man sits in a tent in Deir Al-Balah. (Reuters: Ramadan Abed)
Palestinians walk through a street market in Khan Younis. (Reuters: Hussam Al-Masri)
Young Palestinians excitedly await a ceasefire. (Reuters: Dawoud Abu Alkas)
Israeli military strikes northern Gaza
We're getting some breaking news that the Israeli military has struck northern Gaza, after the ceasefire was delayed.
In a statement, the IDF says it "continues to operate and attack terrorist targets" in Gaza.
"A short time ago, several terrorist targets in the northern and central Gaza Strip were attacked with artillery fire and aircraft," it said.
Gazan medics also told Reuters that Israeli fire had killed three in the eastern area of Gaza city.
In Gaza, the days leading up to ceasefire can be most deadly
Amer al-Sultan had nine relatives killed in an IDF attack in Gaza before Sunday's ceasefire. (ABC News)
Even though it was announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire on Wednesday night, in the days leading up to deadline, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) continued its attacks in the territory.
Gaza's health ministry said 81 people had been killed in IDF attacks on Thursday. It said 88 people were killed on Friday and 23 people were killed on Saturday.
Amer al-Sultan surveys what's left of his family's home on Friday. (ABC News)
Amer al-Sultan had nine relatives killed on Friday, when the IDF targeted the family home in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
His mother, Amer, was among the casualties.
"My mother is the pillar, she is the soul [of our family]. She is everything in this life. She was hoping that a ceasefire will bring us altogether," Mr Al-Sultan told the ABC.
"I cannot believe she is gone. I cannot believe it. All night long, I was thinking it is impossible she is gone."
Amer al-Sultan's mother Ayesha, left, and nephew Ahmed were both killed in the IDF strike. (Supplied)
Watching the final onslaught
A resident of Sderot watching the Israeli bombardment of northern Gaza (ABC News: Matthew Doran)
As dusk descended over southern Israel on Saturday night, the quiet is punctuated by the sounds of war just a few kilometres away.
On the edge of the town of Sderot, there are a number of vantage points looking across fields towards northern Gaza.
Smoke rises from what were once homes in communities such as Beit Hanoun and Jabalia, which have been subject to some of the most intense bombardments by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in recent months.
One resident is standing and watching the sunset over Gaza, smoking a cigarette and pointing to explosions in the distance.
"It gets really bad at night," she tells the ABC.
Much of northern Gaza has been reduced to rubble during intense bombing by the IDF (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)
It might be a morbid way to spend the early evening. But she isn't alone.
A handful of Sderot locals sit at the lookout points and watch.
They have been living at the edge of this war for 15 months, and are keen to see it end.
"It would be nice for there to be a quiet night."
The IDF is continuing strikes against claimed Hamas targets across Gaza right up until the ceasefire comes into force (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)
Their experiences are, obviously, incredibly different to their neighbours over the other side of the fence – many hundreds of whom have been killed.
The scale of the devastation in northern Gaza is unimaginable for many, even with images splashed across social media and the feint outlines of rubble visible in the hazy distance and the flashes of bombs exploding.
Hundreds of thousands have been pushed out of the area during the IDF's siege, which began in earnest in October as Israel claimed Hamas was using the region to regroup.
Those locals will be allowed to go home, if the ceasefire takes effect.
If there's anything to return to.
What we're expecting to happen today
The ceasefire Israel and Hamas have agreed to is complicated. There's a lot we know about it, and still plenty we don't.
A delayed start has also further muddled up the truce.
Despite this, here's what we are expecting still:
We know Hamas is planning to release three hostages taken during its surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel has published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners that will be freed from its jails. They're mainly women.
We're not expecting the prisoner/hostage exchange to take place until after 4pm Sunday, local time (1am Monday AEDT), given the ceasefire goes ahead in the morning.
I was reporting from Israel during the most recent ceasefire in the war, back in November 2023.
Back then, Palestinian prisoners were taken out of jails on busses and dropped in various locations around the West Bank.
Hamas militants handed batches of hostages to people from the Red Cross, who then drove them through the Rafah Crossing and into Egypt.
From Egypt, they were taken via helicopter to Israel, where they underwent medical assessments in military bases and, in many cases, were reunited with family. After that, they were transferred to hospitals for monitoring.
We're not sure if the process is going to be quite the same this time.
The hostages have been held in Gaza for more than a year longer than when some were released during the previous ceasefire, and the condition of some is unknown.
IDF spokesman says ceasefire is delayed
The IDF spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, says the ceasefire brokered between Israel and Hamas will not begin as planned at 8:30am Sunday, local time (5:30pm AEDT).
In a video update, delivered as the ceasefire was supposed to begin, Rear Admiral Hagari claimed Hamas had not kept up its end of the agreement by failing to provide the names of three hostages it plans to release today.
He said that as long as Hamas was not meeting the demands, Israel would continue to attack.
Earlier in the day, Hamas released a statement saying it was committed to the ceasefire, but that it hadn't been able to release the names of the hostages due to "technical field reasons".
Expected ceasefire deadline passes
The Israel-Hamas truce was scheduled to begin by now, according to previous reports.
An IDF spokesperson is speaking shortly and we will bring you those details as they come.
Meanwhile, Matthew Doran in Sderot has captured this picture of smoke rising from Gaza.
Smokes rises from Gaza. (ABC News: Matthew Doran )
Looking towards Beit Hanoun from Israel. (ABC News: Matthew Doran )
Israel says it recovered remains of soldier killed in 2014 war
AP is reporting that Israel has recovered the remains of a soldier killed in the 2014 Gaza war, hours before the ceasefire deal is set to begin.
Oron Shaul was killed in the previous conflict and his remains have been held by Hamas.
The bodies of Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, remained in Gaza after the 2014 war and had not been returned despite a public campaign by their families.
Their families had fought to have the bodies returned as part of any ceasefire deal in the current war.
Protesters petition for the return of Oron Shaul's body. (AP: Ariel Schalit)
Who are the hostages that could be released?
Today, Hamas is supposed to release three hostages taken during its October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel.
Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims the militant group has not provided names of who they are going to be (although, there is a list of 33 hostages Hamas is planning on freeing as part of the "first phase" of the deal).
Some Arabic media outlets are reporting that today's three are going to be Doron Steinbacher, Romi Gonen and Arbel Yehud.
Doron Steinbacher. (Supplied)
Doron Steinbacher was 30 when she was abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza by Hamas militants.
(A side note: I reported from this particular community back in October 2023 and the scenes there were utterly devastating. It's about 3km from the Israel-Gaza border).
Hamas released a video of Doron in January 2024, and her mother Simona spoke about it at the time, saying: "You can see how pale and thin she looks."
Romi Gonen. (Supplied)
Romi Gonen was among the hostages taken from the Nova Music Festival. She was 23 at the time.
She attempted to flee in a car with friends, and phoned her mother while trying to escape, informing her that she'd been shot.
The car was later found empty and burnt out, and Romi's phone was tracked to Gaza.
A recording of Hamas militants discussing whether to abduct or kill Romi made headlines around the world.
Arbel Yehud. (Supplied)
Arbel Yehud was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz with her boyfiend, Ariel Cuneo.
She had her 29th birthday in captivity in Gaza.
It's not clear if the pair have been held together, but based on the experiences of previous released hostages that appears unlikely.
Arbel's best friend, Shani Goren, was also abducted by Hamas terrorists, but was freed during the previous ceasefire.
She's been campaigning to release the other hostages.
In June last year, Ms Goren told an event in Tel Aviv: "Every day I wake up, I'm still held hostage. Because until Arbel and everyone else return home, we can't even begin to discuss rehabilitation and moving forward. I know. I was there."
'What the world has wanted to see': Albanese on looming ceasefire
Here in Australia PM Anthony Albanese says he's hopeful the ceasefire in Gaza will hold.
Albanese says he wants Israelis and Palestinians to be able to live in peace moving forward.
"We're certainly hopeful, as I think the world is, that this ceasefire holds," he said while in Sydney earlier today.
"It's what the world has wanted to see and it is good that it has occurred and it will come in to place.
"We want to see hostages released, we want to see proper aid be able to get to the people of Gaza, and we want Israelis and Palestinians to be able to live in peace and security."
Even before the ceasefire, some settlers have designs on Gaza
Some Jewish settlers are already setting up tents near Gaza, hoping to move in after the ceasefire begins. (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)
Many across Israel are expressing caution about the ceasefire in Gaza beginning – that it won’t feel real until it actually takes force and Israeli hostages start being returned.
But, not everyone is sharing that restraint.
In Sderot, a short distance from the Gaza border, there was a presumptuous display of enthusiasm for the deal late on Friday.
We came across a few dozen would-be Jewish settlers who were putting up tents in the carpark of the town’s railway station, under the watchful eye of Israeli police and military.
They had wanted to camp right alongside the border fence with Gaza, but had been moved on by authorities.
“We came here to be able to build a relationship with everyone who’s involved in preparing to come back to this area of Gaza, where the Jews have been really from the very beginning,” Matthew, one of the settlers, told the ABC.
Matthew and his family were among those pitching tents in Sderot on Friday night (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)
The intention of the group, many of them families with small children, was clear – so too their belief that they should not have Palestinian neighbours in Gaza.
“I think from what we've seen in the past years, unfortunately, it doesn't seem very likely or practical to have both of us living together,” Matthew said.
“We seem to try again and again to have that possibility, but to give land away to them, it's the most dangerous thing that can happen.
“We originally gave them the land and they proved dangerous to the rest of the country, and the safest thing that we can do is to ensure that it's within Jewish control.”
One of the other settlers took me aside after I finished speaking with Matthew.
“We’re not taking their land – it’s our land,” she said about Gaza.
“Would you like it if someone had taken part of Australia, and made you feel unsafe?”
The group were rushing to put up their tents before sundown on Friday, when the Jewish Shabbat began and they were not allowed to do manual labour.
It seemed like some would struggle to meet that deadline.
Enthusiasm and belief, albeit tempered by skill.
The hopeful settlers do not believe there is a place in Gaza for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis to live side by side (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)
Hamas says delay is due to 'technical field reasons'
As we just mentioned, Netanyahu has threatened to delay the start of the ceasefire, saying Hamas is yet to inform Israel of which hostages will be released first.
Hamas has now responded saying this delay is due to "technical field reasons".
It also reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire in a statement.
Netanyahu threatens to delay start of ceasefire
The ceasefire in Gaza is due to start in just under an hour, and there is already a threat to delay it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has just issued a statement saying Hamas is yet to inform Israel of which hostages will be released first.
It has been widely expected that three female hostages would be freed this afternoon, local time.
"The Prime Minister instructed the IDF that the ceasefire, which is scheduled to take effect at 8:30 AM, will not begin until Israel has the list of released hostages, which Hamas has pledged to provide," the statement from Mr Netanyahu's office said a short time ago.
(Reuters: Debbie Hill )
IDF warns Gaza residents not to approach buffer zone
The Israeli army is warning Gaza residents not to approach its forces or make any movement towards the buffer zone ahead of a ceasefire taking effect.
"We urge you not to head towards the buffer zone or IDF forces for your safety," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram.
"At this stage, heading towards the buffer zone or moving from south to north via Gaza Valley puts you at risk.
"Anyone heading towards these areas endangers themselves."
Israel will retain the right to resume war in Gaza, Netanyahu says
Hello, I'm Tessa Flemming and I'll be joining you this evening as we await an expected ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
But first, some information from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was speaking some time ago.
He says Israel will retain the right to resume war in Gaza with US backing should the second stage of the ceasefire prove pointless.
"If we must return to fighting we will do that in new, forceful ways," Netanyahu said in a video statement.
"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."
