Implementation of cease-fire deal delayed

Truck drivers of humanitarian supplies hope truce ends long wait to enter Gaza

GAZA — With the implementation of a truce in the Gaza Strip between Israeli forces and Hamas delayed due to "last minute "details over which hostages would be released and how, humanitarian aid truck drivers continue to wait for more fuel and other essentials to be allowed into the area.

A Palestinian official told AFP on Thursday that the truce, widely expected to go into force on Thursday but delayed during the night, had been put back over "the names of the Israeli hostages and the modalities of their release", said the official, who has knowledge of the negotiation process.

Lists of those to be freed had been exchanged by both sides, he added. Questions were also being raised over Red Cross access to the hostages before they would be released into Egypt, he said, and whether the Red Cross would have access to those who remained.