Israel rejects ceasefire, vows to continue military action in Gaza

Israel has made it clear that it will keep its military operations going in Gaza after Hamas failed to meet the conditions set in their ceasefire agreement. 

This announcement was confirmed on Sunday by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), as reported by BBC.

According to IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, the ceasefire in Gaza will not begin unless Hamas fulfills its obligations. 

"As long as Hamas fails to meet its commitments, the ceasefire will not start," said Hagari in a statement.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also made it clear that the ceasefire would not take effect until Hamas released a list of hostages.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the Israeli military had been instructed not to proceed with the ceasefire, which was scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM local time.

Hamas, on the other hand, explained that the delay in releasing the hostages list was due to "technical reasons."

This decision comes after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on January 15, facilitated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar. 

The agreement outlined that 737 Palestinian prisoners would be freed on the first day of the ceasefire, in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages being released by Hamas.