A long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza began after a three-hour delay as Hamas named the three female hostages it plans to free later on Sunday
Celebrations erupted across the war-ravaged territory and some Palestinians began returning to their homes despite the delay, which underscored the fragility of the agreementIsraeli media, carrying live footage from Qatar-based Al Jazeera, is showing the first images of the first three hostages to be released.
An Israeli official confirmed that Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were set to be released later Sunday. Gonen was abducted from the Nova music festival, while the others were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Damari is an Israeli-British dual citizen. In a separate development, Israel announced it had recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, in a special operation in Gaza. The bodies of Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, remained there after the 2014 war and had not been returned.The ceasefire deal was announced last week after a year of mediation by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. TheNetanyahu on Saturday warned that he had Trump's backing to continue fighting if necessary.
Negotiations on the far more difficult second phase of this 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.Across the Gaza Strip, celebrations erupted as people hoped for respite after the fighting killed tens of thousands, destroyed large areas of the territory and displaced most of its population.
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