Gaza ceasefire sets in motion release of 3 Israeli hostages
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.
- This story was reported by The Associated Press
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.
In Washington, President Joe Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, said “we have a full ceasefire in effect,'' adding that 800 trucks of humanitarian aid are expected to flow into Gaza on Sunday.
Mr. McGurk helped hammer out the ceasefire deal in Doha, Qatar, along with President-elect Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and other mediators from Qatar and Egypt.
He noted on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that two Israeli-American hostages will come out in the first phase of the deal over the coming weeks.
“We’ve been working seamlessly with the incoming team. I think this is a testament to President Biden and to President Trump allowing us to work together,” Mr. McGurk said.
Rejoicing in Israel
In Israel, families jumped, clapped, cried out and wept. Israel’s military released footage of relatives watching the three released hostages meeting military representatives after being released.
The military said the three women had reached the initial reception point in Israel to be reunited with their mothers. They would have an initial medical assessment and go to a hospital, officials said.
“This is an exciting day,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, and told the freed women that “an entire nation embraces you.”
AP drone footage shows devastated Gaza
Meanwhile, drone footage by The Associated Press in the opening hours of the ceasefire in Gaza showed a gray and devastated landscape in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The footage of what had been densely populated neighborhoods showed roofs caved in, shattered buildings, and massive support beams holding up nothing at all.
The images also showed Palestinians moving on foot on some of the city’s streets as people begin to assess the damage without the threat of Israeli fire.
The United Nations has said much of Gaza’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
- This story was reported by The Associated Press
