The long-awaited ceasefire in the war in Gaza has come into force after a delay of nearly three hours, and Gazans are beginning to return to their homes
The first three Israeli female hostages are expected to be freed later – Hamas has named them as 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, as well as 24-year-old Romi Gonen who was kidnapped from the Supernova Festival
The ceasefire was due to start at 08:30 (06:30 GMT) on Sunday but was delayed last-minute after Hamas failed to give Israel the list of the three hostages in time – Hamas says it was due to “technical field reasons”
Up until the ceasefire began, Israel continued to carry out strikes on Gaza, killing 19 people according to the the Hamas-run civil defence agency
Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages
The attack triggered a massive Israeli offensive on Gaza, during which more than 46,800 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
● UN says thousands of trucks, filled with food and flour, ready to enter Gaza
Reports from the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), say thousands of trucks filled with food and flour are now waiting to enter Gaza – something agreed in the ceasefire deal.
In a post on X, the agency says it has “4,000 truckloads of aid ready to enter Gaza – half of them carry food and flour”.
The agency’s head Philippe Lazzarini adds: “Attacks on aid convoys in the Gaza Strip could decline as humanitarian relief comes in following a ceasefire”. [BBC]
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