Prime Minister Netanyahu says ceasefire will not begin unless Israel has hostage list

According to RIA Novosti, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office issued a statement on January 19 that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will not take effect until the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas hands over a list of hostages to be released.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assessed the security situation due to the delay in receiving the list of hostages that are expected to be released by Israel. The Prime Minister has ordered the Israel Defense Forces that the ceasefire, which was scheduled to take effect at 8:30 a.m. on January 19, will not begin until Israel receives the list of hostages that Hamas has committed to release," a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said.

According to Ynet, Hamas is delaying the transfer of the hostage list for technical reasons.

Dmitry Gendelman, an adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, told RIA Novosti that Israel has yet to receive the three hostages that Hamas promised to release on the first day of the ceasefire.

Earlier, the parties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip - Israel and the Hamas movement, along with mediators including Qatar, Egypt and the US, agreed to a 42-day ceasefire and announced a commitment to end the 15-month war that has killed 46,000 Palestinians and 1,500 Israelis. The war has also spread to other countries in the region such as Lebanon and Yemen.

The ceasefire was supposed to take effect on January 19. The first phase of the deal involved the release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli troops were to withdraw to the Gaza Strip border.