DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The deadline for the start of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip passed as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had not lived up to its commitment to provide the names of the three hostages it was set to release later on Sunday in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.

The Israel-Hamas war, now nearing a potential ceasefire, has devastated the Gaza Strip. Satellite photos offer some sense of the destruction in the territory, which has been largely sealed off to journalists and others.

At least eight killed in Gaza airstrikes as ceasefire delayed over hostage list dispute - The ceasefire deal was signed off by Israel’s government on Saturday morning - but attacks have continued on t

The dispute is over the identities of several prisoners that Hamas is demanding to be released. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Of around 250 people taken into the Gaza Strip as hostages on Oct. 7, 2023, about 100, living and dead, are believed to still be held.

In May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the agreement, saying Israel would continue its military offensive in Gaza until it meets its objectives. But a lot has changed in the region since.

For more than a year, Alaydi, a Palestinian American teacher living in California, has been working nonstop with an attorney in a heartrending, uphill battle to evacuate nearly two dozen of Alaydi's family members - including small children - who've been trapped in Gaza during Israel's immensely brutal war.

Mediators say Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants was poised to receive a final endorsement from Israel’s Cabinet Friday and could take effect as early as Sunday, but the critical political question of who will govern Gaza over the long run has once again been put off for another day.

The Biden administration called for a final push before the president leaves office, with many seeing the Trump inauguration as an unofficial deadline.

The government vote was delayed by wrangling between Israel and Hamas and by negotiations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right political allies.