Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was treating the ceasefire as temporary and retained the right to continue fighting if necessary.

The first phase of the ceasefire, set to last 42 days, will see the exchange of 33 hostages for 737 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire are scheduled to begin after two weeks,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of backing out of a cease-fire deal to release hostages and end the war in Gaza, which has raged for more than a year.