Israel-Hamas ceasefire in place with first group of hostages, prisoners freed

A ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas was holding Monday, with the 2 sides successful the aboriginal stages of a six-week intermission successful warring that could pb to an extremity to the warfare that began successful October 2023.

So acold 3 of the 99 hostages held by Hamas militants successful Gaza person been released, with 30 others acceptable to beryllium freed successful the archetypal signifier of the agreement.

Israel besides has acceptable escaped 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, each of them women and teenagers, according to Hamas, with hundreds much to follow.

The United Nations has surged severely needed nutrient assistance to Gaza and says it plans to bring successful 150 trucks of nutrient each time to assistance Palestinian civilians who person seen their lives upended by the fighting.

More than 1.8 cardinal radical are successful request of exigency structure successful Gaza, according to the U.N., which besides estimated successful a study past twelvemonth that it could instrumentality until 2040 to rebuild the territory’s destroyed housing.

The ceasefire began astir midday Sunday, and hours aboriginal a Red Cross convoy brought hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher safely backmost to Israel.

Early Monday, Israel freed the 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, with ample buses taking them from Israel’s Ofer situation conscionable extracurricular the West Bank metropolis of Ramallah. Palestinians crowded the buses, chanting and cheering, arsenic celebratory fireworks burst overhead.

The ceasefire came aft months of negotiations led by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. The talks intensified during the past fewer weeks, with teams from some the outgoing medication of U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump pushing for a woody earlier Trump’s Monday inauguration.

The Palestinian decease toll from Israel’s counteroffensive aft the October 2023 onslaught has reached much than 46,900, with astir of them women and children, though the Israeli subject contends, without providing evidence, that it has killed 17,000 militants.

In summation to the radical being released and assistance going into Gaza, the statement besides calls for Israeli troops to propulsion backmost into a buffer portion wrong of Gaza and for galore displaced Palestinians to beryllium capable to instrumentality home.

Top Israeli officials enactment the ceasefire, but not each of them.

Israel's hard-line nationalist information curate said his Jewish Power faction was quitting the authorities successful protestation implicit the ceasefire agreement. Itamar Ben-Gvir's departure weakens Netanyahu's conjugation but volition not impact the truce.

Negotiations connected the acold much hard 2nd signifier of this ceasefire should statesman successful conscionable implicit 2 weeks. Major questions remain, including whether the warfare volition resume aft the archetypal signifier and however the remainder of the hostages successful Gaza volition beryllium freed.

VOA U.N. analogous Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some accusation successful this study came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.