This came nearly three hours after it was originally planned, after being postponed at the last minute on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During the delay, Gaza's civil protection agency said Israeli strikes had killed 8 people.
A statement from Netanyahu's office, released less than an hour before the truce was due to begin at 8:30 a.m. (local time), said he had "instructed the IDF that the ceasefire will not begin until Israel receives the list" of hostages to be released.
Hamas attributed the delay to "technical reasons" as well as "the complexity of the situation on the ground and the ongoing bombardment," eventually releasing the names of 3 Israeli women to be freed on January 19 around 10:30 am.
Israel confirmed that it had received the list and was "checking the details", and shortly afterwards confirmed that the truce would begin at 11:15 local time.
Live footage from northeast Gaza showed a plume of grey smoke about 30 minutes after the truce was due to take effect earlier, and again about 30 minutes later.
The Israeli military confirmed it was continuing to "strike in the Gaza area" following Netanyahu's directive.
Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said three people were killed in the north of the territory and five in Gaza City, while 25 were wounded.
The original exchange called for three Israeli hostages to be released from captivity in exchange for a first group of Palestinian prisoners.
A total of 33 hostages taken by militants during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, will be returned from Gaza during the initial 42-day truce.
Under the deal, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails.
The truce is intended to pave the way for an end to the more than 15-month war sparked by the Hamas offensive, the deadliest in Israel's history.
It follows a deal brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of negotiations, and comes into force on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration as US President.
In a televised address on 18 January, Netanyahu called the 42-day first phase a "temporary ceasefire" and said Israel had the backing of the US to return to war if necessary. | BGNES
