A newly brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday, after being delayed by several hours due to a dispute over the first hostages to be released under the deal.
An initial six-week halt to fighting was due to begin at 11:15 am (0915 GMT), the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced just minutes before.
The ceasefire had originally been expected to begin at 8:30 am but was delayed when Israel said Hamas had failed to provide the names of the three Israeli hostages to be released today as part of the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas had said the delay was for “technical reasons.”
Netanyahu’s office later said that Hamas had handed over the names.
According to the Israeli government, the first three hostages are due to be released at 4 pm. They are three civilian women, Israeli sources say.
At around the same time, the first 90 or so Palestinian prisoners are to be released in Israel and taken by security forces either to the West Bank or Gaza.
It is unclear whether these timings remain current, given the delayed start of the ceasefire.
