The sun rose over the Israel-Gaza border on Sunday (January 19) morning, hours before a ceasefire was set to come into effect at 0630 GMT, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Sunday (January 19) that the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was delayed as Hamas had not fulfilled its obligation to send Israel the list of hostages to be released on the first day.
As the scheduled time for the ceasefire to start at 8.30 a.m. (0630 GMT) passed, Israeli tanks continued to shell areas in Gaza.
READ: Israel says truce with Hamas begins, after delay
In a brief televised address, Hagari said the political echelon had directed the military to delay implementation and that it retained freedom to continue attacks in the Gaza Strip as long as the ceasefire had not taken effect.
Hamas later named the three Israeli female hostages to be freed in Gaza on Sunday (January 19) as Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, according to a statement by the Palestinian militant group.
Israel said it received the list of the hostages and Israeli security personnel were checking the "details", the prime minister's office said.
It also said it had begun notifying families of hostages to be released via representatives of the Israeli military.
(Production: Paul Warren)