An election observation mission has been set up by the European Union to oversee parliamentary elections in Kosovo scheduled for 9 February.

A team of 100 observers will monitor the elections, underlining “continuous EU support for Kosovo to further strengthen its democratic governance,” Nathalie Loiseau, the French member of the European Parliament who has been appointed as chief of the mission said.

She said the election will “showcase the plurality of Kosovo’s political landscape.”

In all, 27 political groupings will run for 120 seats in the parliament.

About 100,000 voters registered abroad have already started casting postal ballots.

The Serb minority has 10 secured seats in the parliament.

Ethnic Serbs make up about 2.3% of Kosovo’s 1.6 million population, according to a 2024 census. Serbs largely boycotted that census and have not accepted the figures, calling them too low.

Loiseau said the elections are being held “at a moment when democracies are questioned, sometimes under threat globally…so the importance of having a vibrant democracy in Kosovo has never been bigger.”

NATO-led international peacekeepers known as KFOR, who have increased their presence in Kosovo after last year’s tensions, said their 4,300-strong force will be buttressed by more than 200 Italian troops during the election period.

In September 2023, Serb gunmen killed a police officer and occupied an Orthodox monastery in an incident Kosovo blamed on Serbia, accusing it of organising a plot to grab its northern territory.

Kosovo again put the blame on Serbia for an explosion that damaged water and power supply systems in November last year.

Belgrade denied both accusations but tensions remain between the two neighbours.

Kosovo was a former Serbian province and declared independence in 2008, a move Belgrade doesn’t recognise.

Both the EU and the United States have urged both sides to implement agreements reached two years ago that include a commitment by Kosovo to establish an Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities.

Serbia was also expected to deliver on de facto recognition of Kosovo.

Israel confirmed late Sunday morning a long-awaited cease-fire has gone into effect after a three-hour delay caused by Hamas not releasing the names of the three hostages it plans to release.

The agreement was set to go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time, but was delayed until 11:15 a.m. local time. Jerusalem is seven hours ahead of Eastern time.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security situation assessment over the delay in receiving the list of hostages who are expected to be released Sunday morning as part of a cease-fire agreement with Hamas, which eventually provided the names.

Hamas said a couple of hours after the agreement was scheduled to go into effect that it would be releasing hostages Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Demari, 27, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, on Sunday. Israel confirmed it has received the names. The hostages are expected to be released later Sunday. 

Earlier, Netanyahu told the Israeli Defense Forces that the cease-fire would not begin until Israel had the list of hostages expected to be freed. Since Hamas had not given the names of the hostages by the time the cease-fire was set to start, the IDF continued to operate, as it was still striking inside Gaza. At least eight Gazans have been killed in IDF strikes since the cease-fire was set to begin, according to a Hamas-run agency.

“As of this morning, Hamas has not fulfilled its obligation, and contrary to the agreement, has not provided the State of Israel with the names of the returning female hostages up to this time. The ceasefire will not come into effect as long as Hamas does not fulfill its obligations,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said earlier on Sunday.

WHAT TO EXPECT AS ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE GOES INTO EFFECT ON SUNDAY

Hamas had said the delay in providing the names was due to “technical field reasons” and added that it is committed to the cease-fire deal announced last week.

The terror group released a statement after the cease-fire began, pledging to the people of Gaza “to be the trustees of their rights and defenders of them, until the complete liberation of the land and the holy sites.”

“The whole world today must stand in reverence for the legendary steadfastness of our people in Gaza, and in appreciation of their patience and sacrifices over the course of 471 days,” Hamas said.

“With the entry into force of the ceasefire, we affirm our commitment to implementing the terms of the agreement, which is the fruit of the steadfastness and patience of our great people, and the legendary steadfastness of our valiant resistance in the face of the zionist machine of terrorism and killing,” the statement continued.

Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal early Saturday morning for a cease-fire in Gaza that would include the release of dozens of hostages and pause the war with Hamas that began after the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the Jewish State.

The deal would allow 33 hostages to be set free over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remaining hostages are set to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first.

“Our heroic prisoners have an appointment with freedom starting today, and this is our firm pledge with them always, until they break the shackles of the jailer and breathe freedom in the skies of Palestine,” Hamas said in its statement.

Hamas agreed to release three female hostages on the first day of the deal, four on the seventh day and the remaining 26 over the next five weeks.

A girl pauses at a mural of female Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. Hebrew reads: “look them in the eyes.” (AP)

Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without a lasting cease-fire and a full Israeli withdrawal.

This is the second cease-fire achieved during the war.

Gaza is expected to receive a surge in humanitarian aid when the cease-fire begins.

“We are monitoring the operations of bringing in aid and providing relief to our people with everything necessary, and we confirm that all efforts will be made to provide all the necessary support and assistance requirements to restore the cycle of life in the Gaza Strip to normal,” Hamas said in its statement.

ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES WILL RECEIVE HOSTAGES SUNDAY WITH EQUIPPED CAMPER TRAILERS AND COMFORTING SUPPLIES

A wall covered with photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip after the deadly Oct 7 Hamas attack calling for the release of the hostages on January 17, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

The 15-month-long war in Gaza started when Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which roughly 1,200 people wer killed and about 250 others were abducted, prompting military retaliation from Israeli forces. Nearly 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza.

More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s offensive, according to the Hamas-run government’s local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and terrorists.