Netanyahu Says Cease-Fire Frozen Until Hamas Provides Hostage List

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, on Sept. 2, 2024. Ohad Zwigenberg/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that the cease-fire with Hamas won’t proceed unless the terrorist group—which has a track record of violating agreement terms—submits a detailed list of hostages to be released as part of the proposed deal.

“We will be unable to move forward with the framework until we receive the list of the hostages who will be released, as was agreed. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. Hamas is solely responsible,” Netanyahu’s office said in a Jan. 18 post on social media platform X.

Netanyahu’s statement was issued several hours after Israel had expected to receive the names, which Hamas was supposed to hand over to a Qatari mediator. There was no immediate reaction to Netanyahu’s statement from Hamas or Qatar.

In separate remarks made in a video posted on X, the Israeli prime minister said the return of every last hostage was a fundamental war goal and that “we will not let up” until this aim is achieved. He added that Israel reserves the right to “resume war if necessary.”

“To date, we have brought home 157 of our hostages, 117 of whom were returned home alive,” he said. “In the deal that has now been ratified, we will bring home another 33 of our brothers and sisters, most of them alive.”

Before Netanyahu’s latest remarks, Qatar’s foreign minister, Majed al-Ansari, said in a post on X that the cease-fire would commence on Sunday morning in Gaza. He urged people to remain cautious when the deal comes into force.

The agreement, which Netanyahu’s office announced on Friday, outlines a three-phase cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, coupled with the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

In the first phase, 33 Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners. Israel will withdraw its forces eastward, moving away from densely populated areas. Discussions regarding the second and third phases are planned for a later time. The agreement also facilitates increased humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Acting as a mediator between Israel and Hamas in the cease-fire talks, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani remarked that the agreement’s survival depends on both sides “acting in good faith in order to ensure that this agreement does not collapse.”

Israeli forces launched their military operation in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 1,100 people and taking 250 hostages.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza health department, Israel’s ground offensive has caused over 46,600 deaths to date, with the figures not differentiating between civilian casualties and terrorist deaths.