The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday’s events as they happen.
IDF says it’s ready to receive hostages, implement ceasefire
The IDF in a statement says it is readying for the ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, which was approved by the government overnight and is set to begin tomorrow.
“The agreement will take effect on Sunday, January 19th, at 08:30, and as part of it, IDF troops will implement the operational procedures in the field in accordance with the set agreements,” the military says.
“The IDF has been preparing to receive the hostages after their release from Hamas captivity and is operating to provide suitable physical and psychological support, with careful attention to every detail,” the statement continues.
“Alongside the agreement and our commitment to bringing home all the hostages, the IDF will continue to operate in order to ensure the security of all Israeli citizens, particularly those in communities near the Gaza Strip,” it adds.
Israel to release 1,904 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in 1st stage of deal
In the first stage of the ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, Israel is expected to be releasing a total of 1,904 Palestinian prisoners.
They include 737 detainees and security prisoners, including numerous terrorists serving life sentences for murder, among them members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah movement, along with women and children being held in Israeli jails.
Israel will also be releasing 1,167 Palestinians detained in the Gaza Strip during the IDF’s ground offensive, who did not participate in the October 7, 2023, onslaught.
On Sunday, the first three female hostages from the list of 33 humanitarian cases — a category made up of women, children, elderly individuals, and the infirm — are set to be released.
The other 30 hostages on the list will be released each Saturday until the end of the 42-day deal.
The hostages will be released in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners detailed in the terms of the deal.
For each of the living women, children and elderly, 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released; for all nine sick hostages, 110 prisoners will be released; for each of the female IDF soldiers, 50 prisoners will be released; for hostages Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held in Gaza for a decade, 30 prisoners will be released for each, in addition to 47 Palestinians released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal and re-arrested; and for the bodies of hostages in the first stage, Israel will release the 1,000+ Gazan detainees.
IDF says it successfully intercepted missile from Yemen
The IDF says one ballistic missile launched at Israel from Yemen was successfully intercepted by air defenses.
Sirens had sounded across central Israel and Jerusalem over fears of falling fragments following the interception.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed the interception of a ballistic missile launched by Ansarullah from Yemen.
Footage of the interception in central Israel has been released, showcasing the missile defense system in action. pic.twitter.com/DQw2ObxpDD
— Geo View (@theGeoView) January 18, 2025
Hezbollah chief says Gaza ceasefire deal shows ‘persistence of resistance’ against Israel
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem congratulates Palestinians on Saturday for the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying it proved the “persistence of resistance” against Israel in his first comments since Israel and Hamas reached the accord on Wednesday.
“This deal, which was unchanged from what was proposed in May 2024, proves the persistence of resistance groups, which took what they wanted while Israel was not able to take what it sought,” the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group says in a speech.
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November.
Missile from Yemen triggers sirens across central Israel, Jerusalem
Sirens are sounding across central Israel and Jerusalem following a ballistic missile launched from Yemen.
The IDF is looking into the details.
???? Rocket Alert [10:18:03] – 18 Alerts ????:
• Shfela (Lowlands) — Zeitan, Yagel, Ahisemech, Ben Shemen, Ramla, Ramla, Regional Council Gezer, Regional Council Hevel Modi'in Industrial Park, Ginaton, Nesher Industrial Zone (Ramla), Achiezer, Be'er Yacov, Kfar Chabad, Lod, Ben… pic.twitter.com/HzpplosvyP
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) January 18, 2025
Qatar: Gaza ceasefire to come into effect on Sunday at 6:30 am GMT
The Gaza ceasefire will come into effect on Sunday at 8:30 am (0630 GMT,) the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman says on X.
“As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30 am on Sunday, January 19, local time in Gaza,” Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari says.
“We advise the inhabitants to take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official sources.”
The exact time of the ceasefire’s start had been unclear, though Israel, whose cabinet earlier approved the hostage and prisoner exchange deal, had said no prisoners would be freed before 1400 GMT.
Father, young child killed in Beit She’an apartment fire
A man in his 30s and his toddler daughter die after a fire breaks out at their home in the northern town of Beit She’an, rescue workers and medics say.
Medics attempted to resuscitate the two, who were suffering severe smoke inhalation, but were later forced to declare them dead.
Five other people are lightly hurt in the apartment blaze, also from breathing smoke, and are treated at the scene, the Magen David Adom rescue service says.
Notorious Fatah terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi to be freed in first phase of hostage-ceasefire deal
Notorious Fatah terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi, who was part of a prison break from a high-security detention facility in northern Israel in 2021 before he and the other escapees were again apprehended, is included on the Justice Ministry’s list of Palestinian security prisoners that Israel is slated to release in the first stage of the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas.
The list in Hebrew published online states that Zubeidi will not be sent abroad, allowing him to return home to the northern West Bank city of Jenin, where he was the commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
The IDF last year killed his son Mohammed alongside several other gunmen in a drone strike, describing the younger Zubeidi as “prominent terrorist from the Jenin area,” which has been a hotbed of terror activity over the past year.
Convicted murderers on latest Justice Ministry list of Palestinian security prisoners to be freed
Following the government vote to approve the hostage deal, the Justice Ministry publishes another list of Palestinian security prisoners slated to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
The new list over 700 prisoners includes numerous terrorists serving life sentences for murder, among them members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah movement.
A statement from the Justice Ministry says the first batch of prisoners slated to freed won’t be released until 4 p.m. on Sunday.
2 Likud ministers join far-right cabinet members in opposing hostage deal
Likud ministers David Amsalem and Amichai Chikli were among the eight cabinet members to vote against the hostage-ceasefire agreement with Hamas, along with ministers from the far-right Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, also of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, was not present.
The Otzma Yehudit ministers who opposed the deal are Itamar Ben Gvir — the party’s leader, Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Amichai Eliyahu. The head of Religious Zionism, Bezalel Smotrich, was joined by his party’s ministers Orit Strock and Ofir Sofer in voting against.
Otzma Yehudit has threatened to quit the coalition over the deal, while Religious Zionism will apparently remain in the government despite opposing the agreement after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly reached understandings with Smotrich to keep his faction in the fold.