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TEL AVIV — A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect in the Gaza Strip Sunday morning, aiming to halt Israeli strikes that have killed more than 46,800 Palestinians and laid waste to the enclave, plus see the gradual release of hostages who have been in captivity for 15 months.
Initially set for 8:30 a.m. (1:30 ET), the pause in fighting was delayed by a few hours and began after 11:15 a.m. (4:15 a.m. ET). Gaza’s Civil Defense agency reported that at least 19 people were killed and 36 injured earlier after the delay was announced.
Three female hostages are expected to be freed from Hamas captivity after 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET), Israel has said, adding that their families had been notified.
Four additional living hostages are expected to be released in seven days, the Coordinator for Hostages, Returnees, and Missing Persons in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. It added that their families would be informed of the names of those to be released 24 hours prior to that date.
The ceasefire is expected to halt Israeli strikes that have killed more than 46,800 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and left much of the enclave in ruins — and it is meant to see the gradual release of hostages who have been in Hamas’ captivity for 15 months, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees held under Israeli custody.
Under the plan’s first phase, 33 hostages will be released in exchange for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. At least two Americans, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel, are expected to be among the first to be set free, with fellow dual national Edan Alexander to follow in the second stage of the ceasefire.
For every hostage released, 30 Palestinian prisoners will be freed — 50 if the hostage is a soldier.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror attacks in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. The attack shattered Israel’s sense of security, while the plight of the hostages and their families became an open national wound.
The war in Gaza and its devastating civilian toll have thrust the plight of the Palestinians into international headlines and triggered international condemnation of Israel. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
A total of 94 people seized and taken into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, are believed to be in Hamas’ captivity, along with four people who have been held by Hamas since 2014. At least 34 of those taken hostage during the Hamas-led attacks are understood to be dead, while two of the abductees taken captive in 2014 are also dead.
The ceasefire is expected to pause more than a year of ferocious Israeli bombings, but also open the floodgates to desperately needed aid, with up to 600 trucks a day to enter the enclave, according to the World Health Organization. A shortage of food, medicine and fuel, plus deadly violence, has created a spiraling humanitarian crisis marked by widespread hunger and sickness.
Nearly 740 Palestinian prisoners and 1,167 Palestinians who were detained in Gaza since the start of the war are expected to be released in exchange for hostages, with children expected to be among them.
If the ceasefire does go ahead as planned, it will bring relief — and possible closure — to families of the hostages trapped in the enclave under terrifying and dangerous conditions, as well as to Palestinian families whose loved ones have been detained by the Israeli military.
Negotiations over a second stage are expected to get underway by the 16th day of the first phase. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that this round would aim to bring about a “permanent end to the war.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Omer Bekin contributed.