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Three hostages being held by Hamas - the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union - have been released and have arrived in Israel, authorities announced.
Later on January 19, Israel is expected to release nearly 90 Palestinian prisoners.
This is the first step of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that came into effect on Sunday.
US President Joe Biden said that "the weapons in Gaza have ceased" under the agreement he brokered in May last year.
The outgoing president, while attending an event in South Carolina, said that humanitarian aid has already begun flowing to Gaza.
According to him, the ceasefire in Gaza has "fundamentally transformed" the Middle East region.
Asked by reporters if he was concerned about Hamas' regrouping, the American leader said he was not concerned.
The start of the ceasefire came after Hamas released the names of three female hostages - under the ceasefire agreement - who were released on January 19.
An Israeli official confirmed that Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, are the first people to be released under the ceasefire agreement. Gonen was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, while the other two women were kidnapped from the Kfar Aza settlement. Damari is an Israeli and British citizen.
The failure to hand over the names of the hostages delayed the truce by more than two hours, with Israel saying earlier that it would continue fighting until the names were handed over, as stipulated in an agreement reached earlier this week. The Gaza Health Ministry said at least eight people were killed in Israeli strikes on the morning of January 19.
Hamas said earlier on Sunday that it was unable to submit the names in time due to "technical reasons on the ground." In a statement, the radical Palestinian group said it was committed to the ceasefire agreement.
There were celebrations across the Palestinian enclave on Sunday and some Palestinians began returning to their homes, although delays in the ceasefire's entry into force highlighted the fragility of the agreement.
The United Nations announced that trucks carrying humanitarian aid have begun entering Gaza, following the start of the ceasefire.
"The first aid trucks have started to enter" Gaza minutes after the agreement came into force, said UN aid official Jonathan Whittall, who is also acting head of the aid agency in the Palestinian territories, OCHA.
The ceasefire agreement envisages an end to the 15-month war and the release of almost 100 hostages, who were taken during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, Israel announced that it had managed to retrieve the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier who was killed in the Israel-Hamas war in 2014. The bodies of Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, had been in Gaza even after the end of the war in 2014.
The ceasefire, which was reached after a year of intensive mediation by the US, Qatar and Egypt, is the first step in a long and fragile process aimed at ending the 15-month war.
The first 42-day phase of the ceasefire is expected to see the release of 33 hostages held in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. The pact calls for Israel to withdraw to a buffer zone inside Gaza and allow many displaced Palestinians to return to their homes. It also calls for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza.
This is the second ceasefire to come into effect since the war began in October 2023, after over a year ago the parties had paused fighting for a week and during that period several hostages were released.
Negotiations for the second phase, considered the most difficult, are scheduled to begin two weeks later. However, there are many questions about the issue, including whether the fighting will resume after the first six-week phase and how the remaining hostages will be released.
The war in Gaza has caused numerous casualties and extensive material damage. More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of the Israeli offensive.
More than 90 percent of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced. The United Nations has said the health system, road network and vital infrastructure have been severely damaged. Reconstruction - if the ceasefire reaches its final stage - would take several years. Also unresolved is how Gaza will be governed after the conflict./ REL
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