A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday following an almost three-hour delay after Hamas was late to name the three hostage it plans to release.
The announcement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the ceasefire began at 11:15 a.m. local time (0915 GMT). Israel said earlier it would keep fighting until the names were handed over in accordance with the agreement.
Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons.” It said in a statement that it is committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
The ceasefire is set to pause the fighting after 15 months of war and see the release of dozens of hostages held by the militants in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal early on Saturday.
Brokered by mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt in months of indirect talks between the warring sides, the ceasefire is the second truce achieved in the devastating conflict.
The Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel killed some 1,200 people and took 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.
Here’s the latest:
Residents in bombed-out Rafah in southern Gaza return to find destruction
CAIRO — Residents n Gaza’s southern city of Rafah returned to find massive destruction following a ceasefire that took hold Sunday. Some found human remains in the rubble.
“It’s an indescribable scene. It’s like you see a Hollywood horror movie,” Mohamed Abu Taha told The Associated Press as he and his brother inspected the family home in Rafah’s Salam neighborhood. He described “flattened houses, human remains, skulls and other body parts, in the street and in the rubble.”
He shared footage of piles of rubble he said had been the family’s house.
Trump welcomes the impending release of 3 hostages from Gaza
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has welcomed the impending release of three hostages held by militants in Gaza as part of a ceasefire agreement with Israel that started Sunday.
“Hostages starting to come out today! Three wonderful young women will be first,” Trump wrote in a post on the social media platform Truth Social.
Pope expresses gratitude for Gaza ceasefire
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis expressed his gratitude for the Gaza ceasefire and praised the role of mediators.
Francis thanked all those involved who worked to make the deal possible, praying that all the hostages will be able to return home and embrace again their loved ones.
The pontiff noted that he continues to pray that whatever has been agreed upon “will be respected.”
Francis also prayed that greatly-needed humanitarian aid will be able to arrive in Gaza as soon as possible, and that the international community will continue to help both sides as to best foster “dialogue, hope and peace.”
UN agency says food trucks entering Gaza
CAIRO — The U.N. World Food Program said trucks have started entering Gaza through two crossings after the ceasefire took hold Sunday.
In a post on X, WFP said the first trucks carried life-saving wheat flour and ready-to-eat food parcels. It said it aims to deliver food daily along humanitarian corridors that include Egypt, Jordan and Israel crossing points.
“This ceasefire is critical for the humanitarian response. Safety, and access must be ensured,” the agency said.
Palestinians in Gaza celebrate the ceasefire
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Celebrations erupted early Sunday across the Gaza Strip as people hoped for respite after 15 months of war that killed tens of thousands and destroyed large areas of the territory. Masked militants appeared at some of the celebrations, where the crowds chanted slogans in support of them, according to Associated Press reporters in Gaza.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Gaza’s Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, held a parade in Gaza City, where the rescuers waved a Palestinian flag alongside other revelers, according to AP footage. It also showed a small group of people carrying the flags of Islamic Jihad, the second largest militant group after Hamas, which took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war.
The Hamas-run police began deploying in public after mostly lying low due to Israeli airstrikes. Gaza City residents said they had seen them operating in parts of the city, and the AP reporter in Khan Younis saw a small number out on the streets.
Palestinian residents began returning to their homes in parts of Gaza City early Sunday, even as tank shelling continued to the east, closer to the Israeli border, overnight. Families could be seen making their way back on foot, with their belongings loaded on donkey carts, residents said.
“The sound of shelling and explosions didn’t stop,” said Ahmed Matter, a Gaza City resident. He said he saw many families leaving their shelters and returning to their homes. “People are impatient. They want this madness to end,” he said.
Families of Israeli hostages worry about the next step
PARIS — At a gathering in Paris, relatives of Israeli hostages say the coming days and weeks remain fraught with worries for them despite Hamas promises to release some of the captives under the long-awaited ceasefire with Israel.
Moshe Emilio Lavi, the brother-in-law of hostage Omri Miran, said at the gathering Saturday night that he’s concerned about the health effects for those held for more than 450 days.
“You can imagine that hostages who were subject to torture, abuse, sexual violence, deprived of food, water, sanitation, sunlight for so long — everyone is a humanitarian case, which is why we as families reject the notion this is a humanitarian deal,” he said.
“The first phase is not. If it was, every hostage, including my brother-in-law, Omri, would return home tomorrow. So we are not optimistic.”
Olivier Jaoui, a relative of French-Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon, said families have “many concerns because we don’t know who is alive, who is dead among the hostages and in particular, for us, Ofer Kalderon, our cousin.”
He added that “another concern, obviously, is in what state they will return.”
Israel names all 3 hostages set to release on Sunday
TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli official confirmed that Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were set to be released later on Sunday.
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 said the families had approved the publication of the names. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Israelis anxiously await the return of hostages
SDEROT, Israel — In the hours before the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect Sunday, some Israelis gathered on a hill overlooking the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where Israeli strikes continued for several hours after a delay in the truce.
Warplanes roared, helicopters thudded and drones buzzed overhead as smoke plumes rose from the rubble of northern Gaza, as seen from across the border with Israel.
Asher Pizem said he grew up next to the sounds of war in the southern Israeli city of Sderot. He welcomed the expected return of the hostages held in Gaza, calling them his “brothers and sisters.”
But the 35-year-old criticized the ceasefire-for-hostages deal that he saw as kicking the problem down the road. He said he believed that by allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Israeli government is fueling the regrouping and rearming of Hamas.
“They will take the time and attack again,” he said.
An Israeli airstrike kills 8 in Gaza, medics say
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike killed at least eight people in the Gaza Strip after the ceasefire was delayed, Palestinian medical officials said.
Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis confirmed the casualties from Sunday’s strike, which it said had occurred around two hours after the truce was supposed to take effect.
Israel said Hamas delayed the start of the truce by not naming the hostages it was supposed to release later on Sunday. Hamas publicized the names around two hours after the ceasefire had been due to begin.
Hamas names the 3 hostages it plans to release Sunday as part of ceasefire deal
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Hamas militant group has named the three hostages it plans to release on Sunday, potentially clearing the way for the start of a Gaza ceasefire after a delay.
Israel had earlier said it would continue fighting in Gaza until the names were handed over in accordance with the agreement. The start of the ceasefire has been delayed by more than two hours.
There was no immediate comment from Israel after Hamas’ armed wing published the names on social media.
Hard-liner Ben-Gvir and his party’s other Cabinet members submit their resignations
JERUSALEM — The party of Israel’s hard-line National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says its Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations from the government on Sunday in opposition to the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The departure of the Jewish Power party from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government does not bring down the coalition or affect the ceasefire. But Ben-Gvir’s departure destabilizes the coalition.
Israel says it recovered the body of a soldier killed in 2014 hours before Gaza ceasefire
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli authorities said Sunday that forces had recovered and returned the body of a soldier killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, whose remains were held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said a complicated operation involving elite commando forces returned the body of Oron Shaul overnight Saturday.
Shaul, 21 at the time of his death, was killed in battle in the war a decade ago. His body was snatched by Hamas and held since.
Hamas still holds the body of another soldier killed during that war, Hadar Goldin.
Both of the soldiers’ families had staged a public campaign to have the bodies returned.
The bodies were expected to be returned as part of the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas in exchange for the hostages and bodies it holds.
UN’s humanitarian affairs agency ramps up preparations to provide aid to Gaza
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.’s humanitarian affairs agency says it has ratcheted up its preparations for providing aid to Gaza after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes effect.
Muhannad Hadi, the agency’s humanitarian coordinator for the territory, said Saturday the United Nations and its partners are ready to leverage the opportunity for large-scale relief.
Hadi referenced in a statement the agreements reached on implementing humanitarian components in the first phase of the ceasefire, including the provision of supplies “including water, food, health and shelter to people across Gaza and the long-awaited release of hostages.”
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas it set to go into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) on Sunday, mediator Qatar said. It will pause the fighting after 15 months of war and see the release of dozens of hostages held by the militants in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Dozens of Israelis protest ceasefire deal in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — Dozens of Israelis protested the ceasefire deal in Jerusalem on Saturday night, briefly blocking a main road as they shouted for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign and the war to continue.
Many carried faux coffins draped in the Israeli flag as well as banners calling the ceasefire a “betrayal” of Israeli soldiers killed in the war.
Yehoshua Shin, whose son was killed fighting Hamas militants on Oct. 7, criticized the deal for releasing Palestinians from prison and called on American president- elect Donald Trump to scrap the deal until there is “total victory” over the Hamas militant group.
Netanyahu says Israel treating ceasefire with Hamas as temporary
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel is treating the ceasefire with Hamas as temporary and retains the right to continue fighting if necessary.
Speaking to the nation just 12 hours before the ceasefire is to start, he claimed that he had the support of President-elect Donald Trump, who he said he spoke with on Wednesday.
Netanyahu also touted Israel’s military successes in Lebanon and Syria as the reason Hamas agreed to a ceasefire. “We have changed the face of the Middle East,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu stressed that he was able to negotiate the best deal possible even as Israel’s far-right Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Saturday he and most of his party would resign from the government in opposition.
With files from Tia Goldenberg and Josef Federman
