Gaza Ceasefire: Truce Begins Bringing Relief To Palestinians; Hamas Hand Overs Three Hostages To Red Cross

The three women hostages, who were held capitive by Hamas, were identified by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum as 24-year-old Romin Gonen, 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher and 28-year-old Emily Damari.

They were released by Hamas militants to the Red Cross.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the ceasefire in Gaza will not begin until Hamas release the list of hostages for phase 1. At least 33 hostages are expected to be released in the next six weeks of truce.

The ceasefire in Gaza is set to begin shortly. As per officials, the ceasefire is set to begin from 8:30 AM Gaza time onwards (12 PM IST). However, a few delays in the implementation have been highlighted.

As per CNN, Israeli forces have been seen withdrawing from parts of central and eastern Rafah. This withdrawal comes ahead of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the first after November 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the ceasefire 바카라�will not begin바카라� until Israel receives a list of hostages to be released. Meanwhile, Hamas maintains it is committed to the deal and blamed 바카라�technical바카라� reasons for the delay.

IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari has stated that the Israeli military will continue its strikes in the Gaza Strip.

"As of this morning, Hamas is not fulfilling its obligations, and contrary to the agreement has not given Israel the names of the hostages [set for release today],바카라� he said.

바카라�Per the directive of the prime minister, the ceasefire will not take effect as long as Hamas is not fulfilling its obligations. The [Israeli military] is continuing to strike now in Gaza, as long as Hamas is not fulfilling its obligations to the deal," he added further.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been delayed. The truce was set to begin at 12 PM IST (8:30 AM Gaza time). However, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the truce "will not begin" until Hamas released the list of hostages that will be freed in the first phase.

Palestinian militant group Hamas has issued a statement on Telegram, reaffirming its commitment to the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

The group has added that the delay in handing over the names of the captives to be released in the first phase is due to 바카라�technical and field reasons바카라� on the ground.

Hamas released the names of the three Israeli captives to be freed on the first day of the implementation of the ceasefire deal in Gaza, a Hamas spokesperson said in a post on Telegram.

The move potentially clears the way for the truce to begin after an hours-long delay.

Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas바카라�s armed wing the Qassam Brigades, said, 바카라�As part of the prisoner exchange deal we decided to release today: Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Shtanbar Khair, 31.바카라�

(Source: Al Jazeera)

The Israeli prime minister바카라�s office has confirmed that receiving of the list of hostages who will be released today as part of the ceasefire agreement.

It added it has begun notifying the families of the three women to be freed, Al Jazeera reported.

The Palestinian group Hamas said in a statement on Telegram that it had handed over the list of releasing hostages to mediators.

Israel바카라�s Prime Minister바카라�s Office has announced that the ceasefire begins at 11:15am local time (09:15 GMT) after three hours delay.

The statement came after Hamas named the three Israeli female captives to be freed. Israeli PM Netanyahu had said that the ceasefire won't start until the list of Israeli hostages who will be free is received by Israel.

In a statement, the spokesperson of Qatar바카라�s Foreign Ministry, the mediator of the truce, also confirmed that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has begun.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu바카라�s office confirmed that the three female hostages named by Hamas will be released at 4:00 Gaza time (7:30pm IST).

바카라�Regarding reports when the ceasefire will begin in Gaza, we confirm that the names of the 3 hostages to be released today have been handed over to the Israeli side,바카라� Majed al-Ansari said.

바카라�They are three Israeli citizens, one of whom is of Romanian nationality and the other of British nationality, and thus the ceasefire has begun.바카라�

Israel Prime Minister office in a statement confirmed that four other living female hostages would be freed in seven days as part of phase 1 of the ceasefire.

As per the deal, mediated by Qatar, Hamas will be releasing 33 Israeli hostages in exchange to 737 Palestinian prisoners in six-week long first phase of ceasefire.

Around 19 people were killed and 36 were wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza during the ceasefire delay. As per the spokesperson for Gaza바카라�s Civil Defense agency, 36 were wounded during the truce delay till 11:30 AM local time.

One person was killed in Rafah, six people were killed in Khan Younis, nine were killed in Gaza City and three in the north, said Mahmoud Basal in a statement.

UNRWA has 4,000 truckloads of aid ready to enter Gaza. As per UN officials, half of these trucks are carrying food and flour for Palestinians.

The truce between Hamas and Israel has begun, bringing relief to the Palestinain people who have been killed, displaced and injured due to 15 months of fighting.

A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the first phase of ceasefire in Gaza.

For the first week, Hamas will release seven hostages. Three hostages will be released today around 7:30 PM IST. The remaining four hostages will be released in the next few days.

Around 100 hostages remain under the captivity of Hamas as the war in Gaza raged on. During the October 2023 attack, the Palestinian militant group took around 250 hostages including women, children and the elderly.

In the first ceasefire in November 2023, around 110 hostages were freed by Hamas in exchange of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

In this 2025 ceasefire, around 33 hostages will be released in the first phase. On the first day of the truce, Hamas is set to release three female Israeli hostages at 7:30 PM IST.

Al-Jazeera reported that UK welcomed expected release of British-Israeli captive. We have received a statement from the UK바카라�s Foreign Office on the expected release of British-Israeli captive Emily Damari after she was named as one of the three women to be freed, Al-Jazeera reported.

바카라�The UK government welcomes the reports that British national Emily Damari is on the list of hostages to be released by Hamas today,바카라� it said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service stated that they are working on the procedures for the release of Palestinian prisoners in accordance with the agreement, Al-Jazeera reported.

The service has received a list of prisoners who will be transferred to the central reception point at Ofer prison, near Ramallah.

Upon arrival, the prisoners will be identified by Red Cross representatives and will remain there until the arrival of the Israeli captives held in Gaza. The Red Cross will then facilitate their transfer from Ofer prison to the designated release points.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has started the process of receiving the three captives held in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Channel 12 reports.

Reuters reported that the ICRC team in Gaza is on the way to collect the captives. According to reports, the Red Cross is expected to take the women to a special army unit in Gaza. Reports also said that from there, they are to be taken to a military facility in Israel near Gaza for initial health examinations before they are taken to a hospital, where they will meet their families.

The three Israeli captives who are being released under the deal have now been handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza, Al-Jazeera reported.

The US president-elect's incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, stated that if Hamas goes back on the agreement, the US will support Israel "in doing what it has to do."

바카라�Hamas will never govern Gaza. That is completely unacceptable,바카라� Waltz said during an interview on CBS바카라�s Face the Nation.

On the last day as US president, Biden welcomed the ceasefire deal, saying today, the guns in Gaza have gone silent. 바카라�This is one of the toughest negotiations I바카라�ve been part of 바카라� but we바카라�ve reached this point today because of the pressure by Israel on Hamas backed by the US,바카라� he said.

바카라�Now the region has been fundamentally transformed,바카라� Biden continued, citing the weakening of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and added that hundreds of trucks were entering Gaza to help its civilian population.

Initially, the ceasefire was delayed by nearly three hours. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said the ceasefire will not begin until Israel receives a list of hostages to be released. Meanwhile, Hamas maintains it is committed to the deal and blamed technical reasons for the delay.

Amidst the delay, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the Israeli military will continue its strikes in the Gaza Strip. Simultaneously, around 19 people were killed and 36 were wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza during the ceasefire delay. As per the spokesperson for Gaza바카라�s Civil Defense agency, 36 were wounded during the truce delay till 11:30 AM local time.

After the delay, the ceasefire process began with three Israeli captives being released. Under the deal, they were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza. After this, the Israeli forces will be releasing 90 90 Palestinian prisoners.