The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza has come into force after a last-minute delay, with displaced Palestinians beginning to return to the cities they fled.
“I want to go back and kiss the ground and the soil of Gaza,” one person heading from Khan Younis in the south, to Gaza City in the north, says
The first three Israeli hostages are expected to be freed later. Hamas has named them as 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, and 24-year-old Romi Gonen – a Red Cross team is on its way to collect them.
Hamas says for every hostage released, 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails
In the hours the ceasefire was delayed, Israel continued hitting Gaza, killing 19 more people, according to the Hamas-run civil defence agency.
Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages.
The attack triggered a massive Israeli offensive on Gaza, during which more than 46,900 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
As a reminder, the ceasefire agreed by Israel and Hamas requires the Israeli government to release hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons over the next six weeks – in return for its citizens.
While BBC hasn’t had the ratio confirmed by Israel, Hamas is suggesting the deal states that for every Israeli hostage freed, 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released.
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