Ceasefire in Gaza after 15 months of bombing

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, 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 war.

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A last-minute delay by Hamas put off the truce's start by nearly three hours. Three Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza got into vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross and crossed over to Israel, as the crowd of fighters chanted the name of the armed wing of Hamas.

The three hostages, all women, were released in exchange for the planned release of 90 Palestinian prisoners.

Even before the ceasefire took effect, some Palestinians began returning to their homes. The truce, which started at 11.15am local time, was the first step toward ultimately ending the conflict and returning nearly 100 hostages abducted in Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack.

Foreign media agencies said that Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were the first three hostages released on Sunday. Gonen was abducted from the Nova music festival, while the others were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Damari is an IsraeliBritish dual citizen.

Hamas was supposed to provide the names before the start of the ceasefire, originally planned for 8.30am. It released the names about two hours later, citing technical reasons and saying it was still committed to the agreement.