Gaza ceasefire takes effect | A total of 33 Israeli hostages are to be set free in the first 42-day phase

Agencies JERUSALEM/CAIRO

Fighting in the Gaza Strip halted on Sunday as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas took effect after a brief delay, pausing a 15-month-old war that has brought devastation and seismic political change to the Middle East.

Residents and a medical worker in Gaza said they had heard no new fighting or military strikes since about half an hour before it was finally implemented. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the agreement had taken effect on Sunday morning after a brief delay, as Hamas named the first three hostages to be released.

After a delay of just over two hours, Israel received the names of three hostages expected to be released later Sunday, according to two Israeli officials speaking on the condition of anonymity. Israel had said the ceasefire would not come into effect until it had received the list.

On social media, Hamas announced the names of the three Israeli hostages it was expected to release later on Sunday: Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher. An Israeli official said that Israel had not formally received the names from Hamas.

The three civilian women were taken hostage on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas onslaught in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 kidnapped to Gaza. Gonen was taken from the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, while Damari, a dual UK citizen, and Steinbrecher were kidnapped from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

The government’s hostages and missing persons coordination unit on Friday notified the families of the 33 Israeli hostages expected to be set free in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Those on the list, to be returned over a period of 42 days, are so-called “humanitarian” cases: women, children, elderly individuals and the infirm.

Notably, Israel has not been told how many of the 33 are alive, though it expects the majority are. Israel will receive a full status report on all those on the list seven days into the ceasefire. Some unconfirmed media reports have said Israel has insisted on first receiving the living among the 33, with bodies returned at the end.

The order of release is not yet known. The identities of those set to return are expected to be provided 24 hours before each release. The schedule for the release will see three hostages returned on the first day of the ceasefire and four more returned on the seventh day. Subsequently, three hostages will be returned every week for a period of four weeks.

Finally, 14 hostages will be returned in the final, sixth week of phase one. The list is nearly identical to one published by a Saudi news outlet earlier this month, after Hamas apparently leaked a document with the names as negotiators moved closer to sealing the agreement. The list includes 12 women and children.