A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold in the Gaza Strip yesterday, 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 a devastating 15-month conflict.
A last-minute delay by Hamas put off the start of the truce by nearly three hours and highlighted its fragility.
However, even before the truce officially took effect, celebrations erupted across the war-ravaged territory and some Palestinians began returning to their homes.
Israel has announced the names of the first hostages expected to return home later yesterday, in exchange for the planned release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners.
The truce, which started at 11:15am local time, is just the first step toward ultimately ending the conflict and returning nearly 100 hostages abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
An Israeli official confirmed that Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were set to be released later yesterday.
Gonen was abducted from the Nova music festival, while the other two were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Damari is an Israeli-British dual citizen.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the families had approved the publication of the names.
Hamas was supposed to provide the three names before the start of the ceasefire, originally planned for 8:30am.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early yesterday said that the militants had not lived up to that commitment and that the Israeli military would keep fighting until they did.
Hamas eventually released the names about two hours later, citing technical reasons and saying it was still committed to the agreement.
The ceasefire deal was announced last week after a year of intensive mediation by the US, Qatar and Egypt.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden’s administration and US president-elect Donald Trump’s team had both pressed for an agreement to be reached before Trump’s inauguration today.
“Hostages starting to come out today! Three wonderful young women will be first,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
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