A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has taken effect after a nearly three-hour delay, pausing a devastating 15-month war in the Palestinian enclave.
The ceasefire came into effect at 11:15am local time (09:15 GMT) on Sunday after Hamas handed over to Israel a list of three female captives to be released as part of the deal.
The deal stipulates a pause in fighting and the release of three three Israeli captives and about 95 Palestinian prisoners on the first day.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the release of the three captives would take place after 14:00 GMT on Sunday. It also said four other living female hostages would be freed in seven days.
A spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas had begun.
“We confirm that the names of the three hostages who will be released today have been handed over to the Israeli side. They are three Israeli citizens, one of whom holds Romanian citizenship and the other British citizenship. Thus, the ceasefire has begun,” Majed Al-Ansari said in a statement.
Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, were the three mediators in the ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel.
Earlier, Israel blamed Hamas for the delay after the Palestinian group failed to provide a list naming the first three hostages to be released under the deal. Hamas attributed the delay to “technical” reasons, without specifying what those were.
Two hours after the 06:30 GMT deadline, Hamas said it had sent the list of names, and Israeli officials confirmed receipt. Hamas named the hostages it was to release on Sunday as Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said Palestinians are now trying to return to their homes in an attempt to rebuild their lives. She said thousands of Palestinians will be able to go to areas they were not allowed to before, including Jabalia and Rafah in northern and southern Gaza respectively.
“Since this morning, people here were waiting for the ceasefire to take effect, and start moving towards Rafah. We also saw a lot of people putting together their luggage … getting ready to start going back,” she said.
“But those people also know that most of their houses are not even there. Most of their houses are not standing anymore. However, most Palestinians say they are going to put their tents on top of the rubble. They miss their neighbourhoods … or whatever is left of it.”
‘We deserve life’
A displaced Palestinian woman from north Gaza told Al Jazeera she was “extremely happy about this because we deserve life”.
“We have seen people torn into pieces so this ceasefire agreement is a piece of good news, and we need to thank everyone who played a role in this and who helped us to put an end to this war,” she said.
The Government Media Office in Gaza said thousands of Palestinian police officers have been deployed in the territory “as part of a government plan to maintain security and order across various governorates”, adding that municipalities have started “reopening and rehabilitating streets”.
“Government ministries and institutions are fully prepared to begin operations according to the government plan to ensure the swift and gradual return of normal life,” it said in a statement, adding that the return of forcibly displaced people will commence next week.
Before the ceasefire came into effect, the Israeli military continued its genocide in Gaza, killing at least 19 more Palestinians and wounding 36 others, the Civil Defence in Gaza said.
In 15 months since October 7, 20023, Israel killed at least 46,899 Palestinians and wounded 110,725 others in the deadliest conflict of the 21st century.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.
Israeli leader Netanyahu faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant on war crimes allegations and separate accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
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