A ceasefire between Zionist entity and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will take effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday morning, Qatar, which helped mediate the deal, said on Saturday.

“As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30 am on Sunday, January 19, local time in Gaza,” Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said on X.

“We advise the inhabitants to take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official sources.”

The exact time of the ceasefire’s start had been unclear, though the Zionist entity , whose cabinet earlier on Saturday approved the hostage and prisoner exchange deal, had said no prisoners would be freed before 1400 GMT.—AFP