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Israel-Hamas Ceasefire To Take Effect 8:30 a.m. January 19

HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani announced that the joint mediation efforts of the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States secured a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap deal between the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel. Credit: Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Majid al-Ansari, announced this morning that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will start at 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) Sunday, Jan. 19. He advised people to exercise caution when the agreement goes into effect and wait for directions from officials, reported AP.

Al-Ansari’s announcement came after the full Israeli cabinet approved the deal late last night after meeting for six hours. The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement confirming the government approved the deal, which Hebrew media outlets report 24 ministers voted in favor of and 8 opposed, reported the Times of Israel. The statement added that the deal will enter into force on Sunday, when the first three Israeli hostages are to be freed. Thirty-three hostages are to be freed in the first, 42-day phase of the deal.

The agreement is, in fact, the agreement that Israel proposed on May 27 of last year and which Biden endorsed on May 31. The Times of Israel published on Jan. 16 what it said was an appendix to the May 27 text:

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