The first three hostages to be released by Hamas under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal have been freed, hours after an agreement took effect to halt the fighting that has devastated the coastal territory.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Later on Sunday the first Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons as part of the deal between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, according to Palestinian reports.
The three Israeli women - named by the Israeli military as Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher - were transferred by the Palestinian militant group Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday afternoon.
Television footage showed armed fighters in Gaza holding back large crowds as the three women were handed over.
They were then transferred to Israeli forces and transported to a hospital in Tel Aviv, where they were to be greeted by family.
The Israeli military posted on X: "They're home."
Reunited at last. — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) pic.twitter.com/l91srqby5cJanuary 19, 2025
Some 90 Palestinian prisoners were expected to be released in Israel, hours after Hamas freed three Israeli women who had been held hostage in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023 attacks.
The first stage of the ceasefire agreement foresees the release of 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for 1904 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, while the Israeli military is to withdraw from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
The prisoners to be released are mainly Hamas fighters who were captured during the war in Gaza but were not involved in the October 7 attacks.
The Palestinian Authority press office said a number of prisoners had arrived in East Jerusalem.
A Hamas spokesman also confirmed that four more hostages would be released on Saturday, as part of the deal to exchange hostages and prisoners over six weeks.
The first Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons as part of the ceasefire agreement. (AP PHOTO)
Following months of stalemate in the 15-month Gaza war, a three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was brokered earlier this week, capping months-long efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to mediate between the warring parties.
The long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect at 11:15am (8pm AEDT) on Sunday, after being pushed back when Israel said Hamas had failed to provide the names of the three hostages to be freed.
Israel continued attacking Gaza as it waited for the list of names, with 19 people killed throughout the territory, according to the Hamas-controlled civil defence authority.
Friends and relatives of the three women clapped and cheered in Hostages Square in central Tel Aviv when their release was confirmed, 471 days after they were taken captive.
An Israeli helicopter flew the three freed hostages home. (AP PHOTO)
The national flag carrier El Al also shared the news of the hostages' release on all of its flights, with videos showing passengers cheering the announcements.
In a statement to Britain's Press Association news agency after being reunited with her daughter in Israel, freed hostage Emily Damari's mother Mandy thanked "everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal, and who never stopped saying her name".
"While Emily's nightmare in Gaza is over, for too many other families the impossible wait continues," she added.
Israeli media reported that Damari lost two fingers during her abduction by Hamas, with images from a video call between the 28-year-old woman and her relatives after her release showing her bandaged hand.
Friends and relatives of the three women clapped and cheered in Hostages Square in central Tel Aviv. (AP PHOTO)
Damari and Steinbrecher were kidnapped from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the October 7 attacks.
Gonon was taken captive from the Nova music festival near the border with Gaza after being shot in the hand while trying to flee with her friends in a car.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the "entire nation rejoices" at the return of the hostages.
"This is a day of joy and comfort, and the beginning of a challenging journey of recovery and healing together," said Herzog.
"We will not rest or be silent until we bring back all our sisters and brothers from the hell of captivity in Gaza - the living to their families, and the fallen and murdered to be laid to rest in dignity," he added.
US President Joe Biden also welcomed the ceasefire and the release of the first hostages.
"Today, the guns in Gaza have gone silent," Biden said.
Israel wants to prevent any celebrations after the release of the prisoners because families have reportedly been threatened with punishment if they hold celebrations, with only parents and siblings allowed to welcome the released Palestinians.
Nearly 200 trucks carrying aid are en route to the Palestinian territory. (AP PHOTO)
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement also provides for a rapid increase in aid deliveries for more than two million Gazans.
The UN World Food Programme said aid was delivered to the Gaza Strip through both the Kerem Shalom border crossing in the south and Zikim in the north with nearly 200 trucks en route to the Palestinian territory.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has prepared 4000 truckloads of aid supplies for the Gaza Strip, it reported.
The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed out of the coastal territory, killing some 1200 people in southern Israeli communities and taking around 250 hostages.
Israel responded with a massive bombardment of Gaza, laying much of the sealed-off territory to ruins, and also launched a ground incursion with the stated aim of fully eradicating Hamas.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to Palestinian estimates.
with PA and AP
Australian Associated Press