The three female hostages released by Hamas have been reunited with their mothers. The freed hostages are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.
Ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into force at 0915 GMT after a delay. No fewer than 90 Palestinian prisoners were due to go free on Sunday.
Aid trucks have started crossing into Gaza even though Israel struck several targets in Gaza before ceasefire took effect.
The ceasefire agreement calls for 33 of the 98 Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza to go free over a six-week first phase, in return for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
With the first three having now been released, and are back in Israel, going forward, Hamas is due to release at least three hostages each week.
All living hostages will be released first, followed by remains of dead hostages. The 33 include women, children, men over 50 and ill and wounded captives. Israel believes most of the 98 hostages are still alive but has received no confirmation from Hamas.
Meanwhle, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Gal Hirsch.
“I know, we all know, they have been through hell. They are emerging from darkness into light. They are really going from slavery to freedom,” Netanyahu said. This is a great moment, an emotional moment. Many congratulations,” he added.
See photos below:
First moments of Romi, Emily, and Doron reuniting with their families. 🎗🇮🇱
📸: IDF Spokespersons’ Unit pic.twitter.com/tEVx5G8SnB
— Government Press Office 🇮🇱 (@GPOIsrael) January 19, 2025
Ceasefire: Israel releases first 90 Palestinian prisoners
Similarly, the first 90 Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal were freed hours after an agreement took effect on Sunday.
The prisoners’ release deal is aimed at halting the fighting that has devastated the coastal territory, local media cited Israeli authorities as confirming.
Local media outlets, including the Times of Israel, cited the prison authority as confirming the release, saying that most of the freed prisoners were women and minors.
The majority of the detainees come from the West Bank, while others are from East Jerusalem, according to the reports.
Palestinian media showed footage and pictures of what they said were released prisoners arriving in Ramallah.
Also on Sunday, the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas released the first three Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement.
The three hostages were women – named by the Israeli military as Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher.
They were transferred by the Palestinian militant group Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday afternoon.
They were then transferred to Israeli forces and transported to a hospital in Tel Aviv, where they were greeted by family.
A Hamas spokesman confirmed that four more Israeli hostages would be released next Saturday.
Part of the deal is to exchange 33 hostages for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails over the course of six weeks.
Following months of stalemate in the 15-month Gaza war, a three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was brokered on Wednesday.
The ceasefire caps months-long efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to mediate between the warring parties.
The first stage of the ceasefire agreement also foresees the Israeli military withdrawing from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.