A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday as Hamas released the first three female hostages it held for 15 months of the devastating war.
The ceasefire went into force at 11:15 a.m. local time after an almost three-hour delay. It was brokered by mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt in months of indirect talks between the warring sides.
The release of those three hostages is expected to be followed by the release from Israel of 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the first stage of the ceasefire deal.
The Hamas-led Oct. 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.
A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday as Hamas released the first three female hostages it held for 15 months of the devastating war with Israel. The release of those hostages is expected to be followed by the release from Israel of 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the first stage of the ceasefire deal.
The ceasefire, which went into force at 11:15 a.m. local time after an almost three-hour delay, was brokered by mediators the United States, Qatar, and Egypt in months of indirect talks between the warring sides.
The three released Israeli hostages are Romi Gonen, 24, kidnapped from the Nova music festival, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Israel officials say the three are with the Red Cross
Later on Sunday, Israel is expected to release around 90 Palestinian prisoners.
A gradual release of 33 Israeli captives over the next six weeks has been agreed on. In exchange, Israel will release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained.
In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden said, “The guns in Gaza have gone silent” under the ceasefire deal he had outlined in May. Mr. Biden spoke during a visit to a church in North Charleston, South Carolina.
In Ramallah, West Bank, families and friends of some of the Palestinian prisoners set to be released from Israel in exchange for hostages in Gaza gathered in Ramallah as cars honked and people waved the Palestinian flag.
The 90 Palestinian prisoners set to be released Sunday in exchange for three hostages held by Hamas include 69 women, according to a list provided to The Associated Press. The youngest is Mahmoud Aliowat, 15.
Other prisoners to be released include Khalida Jarrar, 62, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist faction with an armed group that has carried out attacks on Israelis. New York-based Human Rights Watch said her repeated arrests are part of Israel’s wider crackdown on non-violent political opposition.
Dalal Khaseeb, 53, the sister of former Hamas second-in-command Saleh Arouri, is also on the list, which was provided by Hamas. Mr. Arouri was killed in an Israeli strike in a southern Beirut suburb in January 2024. Also listed for release is Abla Abdelrasoul, 68, the wife of detained PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat who killed an Israeli Cabinet minister in 2001 and has been serving a 30-year sentence.
In Tel Aviv, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer credited both President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump with helping secure the prisoner release.
“Both Trump and Biden have given full backing to Israel’s right to return to the fighting if it concludes that the second stage of negotiations is ineffectual,” he said.
– This story was reported by The Associated Press
