90 Palestinian prisoners released from Israel

The ceasefire will see Gaza hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel freed.

Last Updated: January 20, 2025, 4:46 AM EST

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect on Sunday morning. Hostages held in the strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be freed in the first phase of the deal.

Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.

Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.

Jan 19, 2025, 5:52 AM EST

Hamas says it's committed to successful ceasefire

Hamas affirmed "our commitment to implementing the terms of the agreement," in a Sunday statement shortly after the ceasefire with Israel came into effect.

Palestinian Hamas militants celebrate the coming ceasefire in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Jan. 19, 2025.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters

Hamas added that "all efforts will be made" to increase aid and return services in Gaza to "normal."

Referring to the planned exchange of hostages taken from Israel for Palestinian prisoners, the group said its "heroic prisoners have a date with freedom starting today."

Hamas also addressed the "heroic and steadfast people in Gaza" and said the world should "stand in honor of the legendary steadfastness of our people in Gaza, and in appreciation of their patience and sacrifices over the course of 471 days."

-ABC News' Samy Zyara

Jan 19, 2025, 5:29 AM EST

UNRWA says 4,000 truckloads of aid ready to enter Gaza

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said Sunday it has 4,000 truckloads of aid ready to enter Gaza during the nascent ceasefire.

A Palestinian carries an aid box distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Nov. 4, 2024.
Ramadan Abed/Reuters

Half of the truckloads prepared for entry carry food and flour, UNRWA said in a post to X shortly after the ceasefire came into effect.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said last week that Gaza needs "rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access and supplies" to meet the "tremendous suffering caused by this war."

Israel's parliament passed legislation in October banning UNRWA from operating on Israeli-controlled territory, accusing the organization of having been compromised by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups.

UNRWA denied the accusation and warned that relief efforts in Gaza and the West Bank will be crippled by the ban.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Jan 19, 2025, 5:06 AM EST

Far-right minister resigns over 'reckless' ceasefire

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced Sunday that he and his fellow Otzma Yehudit -- meaning Jewish Power -- party members had resigned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government in protest of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Israeli National Security Minister and head of the Jewish Power party Itamar Ben-Gvir gives a statement in Jerusalem, on Jan. 16, 2025.
Oren Ben Hakoon/Reuters

"We will not agree to a reckless deal," Ben-Gvir wrote on X. "My friends in Otzma Yehudit and I submitted our resignation letters from the government and the coalition this morning."

The resignations mean Netanyahu's coalition loses the backing of six Otzma Yehudit seats in the Israeli parliament -- the Knesset. The prime minister's ruling coalition now has a diminished majority of 62 of the body's 120 seats.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Jan 19, 2025, 4:50 AM EST

First hostages scheduled for Sunday afternoon release

The first group of hostages to be freed from Gaza as part of Sunday’s ceasefire plan will be released at 4 p.m. local time -- 11 a.m. ET -- according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

PHOTO: A woman holds a poster of Doron Steinbrecher as supporters of Israeli hostages, kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel Jan. 13, 2025.
A woman holds a poster of Doron Steinbrecher as supporters of Israeli hostages, kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, demand a deal during a protest amid ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel January 13, 2025.
Itai Ron/Reuters

The Directorate of Abductees, Returnees and Missing Persons in the prime minister’s office said in a statement that the “families of the abductees have been updated with the list of abductees who will be released today in the first phase of the plan.”

Four more living hostages are scheduled to be released in seven days, the directorate said.

“The families will be updated with the names of those being released 24 hours before this date," the directorate said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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