Israeli PM Netanyahu says Gaza ceasefire will not begin until hostage names released

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military not to begin the ceasefire in Gaza, scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT), until Hamas issued the names of the hostages to be released, his office said on Sunday.

"The prime minister instructed the IDF that the ceasefire, which is supposed to go into effect at 8:30 a.m., will not begin until Israel has the list of released abductees that Hamas has pledged to provide," his office said in a statement.

An Israeli military spokesperson later said the ceasefire will not take effect as long as Hamas fails to meet its obligations. 

Israel will continue to attack as long as Hamas does not meet its demands, said the spokesperson, adding that the military is fully ready for the implementation of the ceasefire and ready to respond if the terms are broken by Hamas. 

Hostages were expected to be released within hours of the start of the ceasefire, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.

The ceasefire agreement followed months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and came just ahead of the Jan 20 inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

In a televised address on Saturday, Netanyahu said Israel had US support to return to war if necessary.

Calling the 42-day first phase a "temporary ceasefire", he said: "If we are forced to resume the war, we will do so with force."