First hostages released by Hamas to the Red Cross, British-Israeli expected among them
Hamas has handed over the first three hostages under a ceasefire deal that has put an end, for now, to 15 months of bitter war in Gaza.
They were released to the Red Cross and are now with Israeli forces.
The Red Cross said the three women are in good health, an Israeli official told the Reuters news agency.
Among those expected to be released was Emily Damari, a 28-year-old British-Israeli woman.
She was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel when she was “shot in the hand, injured by shrapnel in her leg, blindfolded, bundled into the back of her own car, and driven back to Gaza”, according to her mother.
The other two hostages are 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, who was also taken from her home in the same kibbutz in southern Israel as Ms Damari, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was abducted from the Supernova music festival.
Shortly after, Israel confirmed the names of the 90 Palestinian prisoners – including women and children – to be released today in exchange.
Back in decimated Gaza, Palestinians have been both celebrating the relief from the bombing and grieving the loss of loved ones and livelihoods.
Some have started the trek back through the rubble to what is left of their homes, hoping to pick up any pieces of their lives.
“I feel like at last I found some water to drink after getting lost in the desert for 15 months. I feel alive again,” said a woman from Gaza City, who had been sheltering in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip, for over a year.
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The long-sought ceasefire for Gaza, where Israel has been waging a powerful military campaign for the past 15 months, was delayed before it eventually took effect at 11.15am local time (9.15am UK time).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire, which had been due to start at 8.30am, would not begin until Israel received the names of the three hostages to be released.
After receiving the list, his office confirmed in a statement the ceasefire had started, and that Israeli security personnel were checking the “details” and contacting the families of the hostages.
It also said four other living female hostages would be freed in seven days.
Hamas blamed the delay on “technical field reasons”, during which time Israel continued to launch military strikes on Gaza, killing a further 13 people, and injuring dozens, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said.
The Israeli military said it struck “terror targets”.
Medics reported tanks firing at the Zeitoun area in Gaza City, and said an airstrike and tank fire also hit the northern town of Beit Hanoun, sending residents who had returned there in anticipation of the ceasefire fleeing.
Sky’s Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said he understood these technical issues may have been related to Hamas’s difficulties passing messages between its leadership in Gaza. It has long avoided using mobile phones to prevent detection by the Israeli military.
“Many in Israel will naturally blame Hamas for playing games,” Bunkall said.
“The mediating teams knew the ceasefire would be shaky, they knew that there would be bumps in the road and have encouraged both Israel and Hamas to remain calm as any difficulties are worked through.”
As the fragile ceasefire started, Israeli forces started withdrawing from parts of Gaza, allowing thousands of displaced Palestinians to begin the journey back to their battered homes.
Two thirds of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or obliterated, according to the United Nations Satellite Centre.
Weary residents returning to Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza found their homes reduced to rubble.
The deal was agreed by Israel’s cabinet on Friday night after a breakthrough in negotiations mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt was announced on Wednesday.
Its first stage will last six weeks, during which 33 of the remaining 94 hostages – women, children, men over 50, the ill and wounded – will be released in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The Palestinians to be released include 737 male, female and teenage prisoners, some of whom are members of militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, as well as hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza in detention since the start of the war.
The pause in fighting is also supposed to enable in humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged territory under the negotiated deal.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said the government “[stands] ready to support” British national Emily Damari.
“We urge both sides to implement all phases of the deal in full and for all hostages to be returned,” they added.
The war began after Hamas militants rampaged into Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted another 250 on 7 October 2023. Around half of the hostages were freed during a brief ceasefire in November that year.
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza 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.