Three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over to Israeli forces there in the first test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
By Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy and Tia Goldenberg, Associated PressPalestinians walk through the destruction by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.
Some 250 people were kidnapped during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered 15 months of war. Almost 100 hostages had remained in Gaza after the rest were released or their bodies recovered.Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.
Even before the ceasefire took effect, celebrations erupted across the territory and some Palestinians began returning to their homes. Israel earlier announced the names of the first three hostages to be freed in exchange for the planned release of 90 Palestinian prisoners. In the interim between 8:30 a.m. and when the ceasefire took hold, Israeli fire killed at least 26 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It did not say whether they were civilians or fighters. The military has warned people to stay away from Israeli forces as they retreat to a buffer zone inside Gaza.
This is just the second ceasefire in the war, longer and more consequential than a weeklong pause in November 2023, with the potential to end the fighting for good.Negotiations on the far more difficult second phase of this ceasefire should begin in just over two weeks. Major questions remain, including whether the war will resume after the first phase and how the rest of the hostages in Gaza will be freed.
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