Dramatic day ushers in a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire after 15 months of war

After 15 months of warfare that began with a brutal onslaught connected Israel by Hamas and ended with overmuch of the Gaza Strip levelled by Israel, a ceasefire came into effect connected Sunday that saw 3 women hostages released from Gaza and 90 Palestinians expected to beryllium freed from Israeli jails successful return.

For 2 tense hours connected Sunday morning, the ceasefire looked arsenic though it mightiness falter from the precise outset. Hamas failed to supply the names of the 3 hostages it planned to release, prompting Israel to postpone the ceasefire and proceed its aerial strikes connected Gaza.

In what should person been the archetypal hours of peace, from 08:30 section clip (06:30 GMT), astatine slightest 19 Palestinians were killed by the strikes and 36 much were wounded, the Hamas-run Civil Defence bureau said. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had struck "a fig of panic targets".

The 3 hostages' names were yet sent by Hamas to Israel, via an intermediary, and Israeli subject enactment successful Gaza ceased for the archetypal clip since a brief, week-long ceasefire and hostage speech backmost successful November 2023.

At 11:19, Majed al-Ansari, the spokesperson for the overseas ministry of Qatar, which has helped broker the ceasefire deal, wrote connected X that the last obstacles had been cleared "and frankincense the ceasefire has begun".

Six hours later, 3 Israeli hostages – Romi Gonen, 24, Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and Emily Damari, 28, who is simply a dual British national – were handed implicit by Hamas to the Red Cross successful Gaza and past to the Israeli military. TV sum showed chaotic scenes successful Gaza City's Saraya Square arsenic crowds massed astir the conveyance carrying the hostages and Hamas fighters struggled to propulsion the radical back.

There was a little glimpse of the 3 women arsenic they were taken from the van, amid the surging crowds. From the handover constituent successful Gaza they were driven by the IDF to the adjacent Re'im subject basal successful confederate Israel to beryllium met by their mothers.

Extensive readying by the IDF had gone into the delicate handover, with subject medics and psychologists readied for the archetypal stages of the process astatine a reception centre designed to easiness the hostages' transition.

From Re'im, they were transferred by chopper to the Sheba Medical Centre adjacent Tel Aviv to beryllium reunited with their wider families and person further aesculapian attention. Two of the 3 reportedly suffered gunshot wounds successful the onslaught connected 7 October 2023, erstwhile Hamas killed astir 1,200 radical and took 251 hostage.

The merchandise was the archetypal of respective owed to instrumentality spot implicit the adjacent six weeks – if the ceasefire holds – until a full of 33 hostages person been returned and astir 1,900 Palestinians person been freed successful exchange. Ninety-seven hostages are inactive successful captivity, Israeli authorities said, though dozens of those are presumed dead.

In Gaza, wherever the wellness ministry says much than 46,900 radical person been killed during Israel's violative and the bulk of the strip's pre-war colonisation of 2.3 cardinal has been displaced, galore civilians yearning for location learned implicit the play that their agelong hold would continue.

The IDF, which should retreat its troops from populated areas during the archetypal signifier of the deal, warned civilians connected Sunday not to attack the buffer portion it had created on Gaza's borders oregon the subject portion successful cardinal Gaza, known arsenic the Netzarim corridor, which cuts the northbound of the territory from the south.

It was expected to beryllium a week earlier immoderate displaced radical successful the southbound tin transverse the corridor and determination backmost to their homes successful the north.

For civilians who person spent 15 months successful hopeless conditions successful tents and makeshift shelters successful Gaza, suffering from malnutrition and disease, the alleviation of the long-awaited bid was tempered by the immense standard of the demolition and loss.

"By God, the feelings are mixed," said Helen Jabri, 41, successful a telephone interrogation from a structure successful Khan Younis successful confederate Gaza.

"Our hearts are aching for the radical we person lost," she said. "My member and his full household were lost. My begetter is simply a prisoner. We are precise blessed that the torrent of humor has stopped, but determination is symptom present successful each house."

Some began packing up and moving connected ft Gaza connected Sunday, peculiarly from the astir confederate areas including Rafah. But it volition beryllium a agelong clip earlier immoderate consciousness of location oregon normalcy tin beryllium returned to the immense numbers of displaced. The bluish parts of the strip, including Gaza City, person been subjected successful places to astir full demolition during the war.

The UN's outer bureau estimates that 60% of structures crossed Gaza person been damaged oregon destroyed by Israeli strikes and demolitions, meaning galore displaced volition person to stay for present successful shelters oregon proceed sleeping rough, prolonging a monolithic humanitarian crisis.

"The immense bulk of shelters are overcrowded and galore are simply surviving retired successful the unfastened oregon successful makeshift structures," said Juliette Touma, communications manager for the UN bureau for Palestinian refugees, Unwra. "They deficiency basal needs similar lukewarm clothes. I would not telephone these surviving conditions, they are not conditions acceptable for quality beings."

Noura Zakout, a ministry of acquisition worker from Gaza City, told the BBC from a structure successful Khan Younis connected Sunday that she would instrumentality to the metropolis astatine the archetypal accidental "no substance the demolition and ruin".

"I conscionable privation to spell to the metropolis and odor its air," she said. "We cognize we person nary location to spell backmost to, but astatine slightest present with this ceasefire we tin instrumentality a breath. Like a diver who goes heavy underwater, we person travel up for a infinitesimal for air."

In Israel, the finalising of the archetypal portion of the woody brought alleviation for 3 hostage families aft 15 months of pain. In a statement, Mandy Damari said her daughter's "nightmare successful Gaza was over" and thanked "everyone who ne'er stopped warring for Emily".

For others, it brought different prolonging of uncertainty. Thirty-three hostages volition beryllium released successful the archetypal signifier but their information is not known and immoderate are reported to person been killed. Among the remaining hostages, lone 2 children are near - brothers Kfir and Ariel Bibas, aged 2 and four.

The boys were kidnapped by Hamas connected 7 October 2023 alongside their parents Sheri and Yarden. Hamas announced successful December 2023 that Sheri and the boys had been killed, but Israeli authorities person ne'er confirmed the deaths.

"It scares maine to hope," Yarden's relative Eylon Keshet said, connected Saturday night, connected what would beryllium Kfir's 2nd birthday.

"I'm not letting myself genuinely ideate it, due to the fact that erstwhile I commencement to ideate it I consciousness similar my tummy turning," helium said. Seeing Shiri and the boys live would, helium said, beryllium "a miracle".

Daniel Lifschitz, whose gramps Oded is the second-oldest hostage, astatine 84, said connected Sunday it was "wonderful to spot the opening of the ceasefire".

"We are getting person to the time erstwhile we mightiness spot my grandfather," helium said. "But astatine the aforesaid time, contiguous has been precise very hard, due to the fact that we don't cognize whether helium is dormant oregon alive. We don't cognize whether to hole for a ceremonial oregon a festival."

In speech for the 3 hostages released connected Sunday, Israel's situation work was preparing to merchandise 90 Palestinians from Ofer detention centre successful the occupied West Bank. They were besides handed implicit to the Red Cross, which took them to a designated country to beryllium decently released.

Relatives of those connected the database said they had not been fixed immoderate details of the process, and were unsure wherever to spell to conscionable the freed prisoners.

For families successful Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, determination is inactive large interest that the fragile ceasefire could illness implicit the adjacent six weeks. The delays connected Sunday greeting were rapidly overcome, but a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel "retains the close to proceed our warfare aims" successful Gaza if the conditions of the woody are breached again.

In Israel connected Sunday, respective far-right ministers resigned successful protestation implicit the presumption of the deal, further weakening Netanyahu's already fragile clasp connected government.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been the deal's astir salient critic. He says it comes earlier Israel has achieved its main warfare purpose of destroying Hamas successful the Gaza Strip.

He declared connected Sunday that his far-right Jewish Power enactment would resign en masse from the governing coalition. Though helium pledged not to effort to overthrow the government, the determination leaves the embattled premier curate with conscionable a razor-thin bulk successful parliament.

Speaking astatine a quality league connected Sunday, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said helium would not talk against those who had objected to the deal, which helium said brought a "heavy terms for Israel".

"Any statement with a panic organisation is simply a atrocious event," helium said. "Releasing terrorists from our jails is simply a dense price, with risks."

Saar acknowledged that determination had been a "very superior statement wrong government" astir the presumption of the deal. "But we are doing it due to the fact that of our committedness to our brothers and sisters who are nether captivity for much than 15 months already. We volition bash our utmost to merchandise them."

The BBC understands that nether an statement with Israel, power of checkpoints successful Gaza antecedently manned by the Israeli subject would beryllium handed implicit to Hamas police, which volition negociate the travel of displaced radical northbound arsenic Israel withdraws. The statement raises questions astir however fighters volition beryllium prevented from besides moving north, and determination are fears of chaos arsenic a wide of radical moves and attempts to entree assistance entering the strip.

Aid lorries began entering Gaza connected Thursday 15 minutes aft the ceasefire came into effect. But the standard of the request is enormous. Even earlier the conflict, Gaza was heavy babelike connected aid. With farmland and nutrient infrastructure destroyed, Unwra has said 600 lorries should transverse into Gaza each day.

Majed al-Ansari, the Qatari overseas ministry spokesman, told the BBC that a dedicated operations centre successful Cairo would show the ceasefire from abroad, to effort and marque definite determination was a "minimum level of chaos arsenic a effect of assistance going in". But helium added that for the archetypal phase, Hamas would fundamentally beryllium successful complaint of the process successful Gaza.

Ansari described the woody arsenic the "last accidental for Gaza, and the past accidental for the region".

"This is the woody for hope, this is the woody for the future, this is simply a woody for each of america collectively," helium said.

US President-elect Donald Trump, whose envoy Steve Witkoff helped broker the woody alongside President Joe Biden's team, welcomed the ceasefire successful a station connected his societal media tract Truth Social. "Hostages starting to travel retired today! Three fantastic young women volition beryllium first," helium wrote.

In Gaza City connected Sunday night, Abdallah Shabbir, a young exigency doc who had worked relentlessly since the time the warfare began, seeing hundreds of dormant and treating thousands of wounded, was allowing himself a tiny infinitesimal of joy.

"It is lone due to the fact that these were my radical I was capable to support going," helium said. "I don't cognize however to explicit the feeling I person now, but determination is joy. The astir important happening is that the bloodshed has stopped. God willing, everything other volition follow."