A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has begun in the Gaza Strip, ushering in an initial six-week period of calm and raising hopes for the release of dozens of militant-held hostages and an end to the devastating 15-month conflict.
A last-minute delay in Hamas naming three female hostages it plans to release on Sunday held up the start of the truce by nearly three hours and highlighted its fragility, but even before it officially began celebrations erupted across the war-ravaged territory, and some Palestinians began returning to their homes.
Israel had earlier said it was continuing to fight in Gaza until the names were handed over in accordance with the agreement, and Israeli fire killed at least 26 people in Gaza during the delay.
The military has warned people to stay away from Israeli forces as they retreat to a buffer zone.
Hamas blamed a delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”, but later published them on social media. It also reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
An Israeli official confirmed Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, are set to be released later on Sunday.
By late afternoon, Hamas and Egyptian officials confirmed the handover of the first hostages to the Red Cross was under way, but it was not clear how long the process would take.
Ms Gonen was abducted from the Nova music festival, while the other two were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire had begun at 11.15am local time, nearly three hours after it was originally supposed to start at 8.30am.
The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire should see a total of 33 hostages returned from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released by Israel.
Israeli forces should pull back into a buffer zone inside Gaza, and many displaced Palestinians should be able to return home. The devastated territory should also see a surge in humanitarian aid.
Brokered by mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt in months of indirect talks between the warring sides, the ceasefire is the second truce achieved in the devastating conflict.
Negotiations on the far more difficult second phase of the latest ceasefire should begin in just over two weeks. Major questions remain, including whether the war will resume after the first phase and how the rest of the hostages in Gaza will be freed.
The Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel killed some 1,200 people and left some 250 others captive. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half the dead.
Meanwhile, the party of Israel’s hard-line national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said its Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations from the government on Sunday in opposition to the ceasefire. The departure of the Jewish Power party weakens Mr Netanyahu’s coalition but will not affect the ceasefire.
In a separate development, Israel announced it had recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier who was killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, in a special operation.
The bodies of Mr Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, remained in Gaza after the 2014 war and had not been returned despite a public campaign by their families.
