Hamas-Israel truce agreement takes effect after 2-hour delay, 10 killed

Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire killed ten Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning before the truce between Israel and Hamas finally came into force at 11:15 am, a few hours later than planned.

The halt to hostilities marks an end to a year and nearly four months of the most brutal aggression the coastal enclave has ever witnessed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the ceasefire, which Israel had said was delayed pending Hamas’s delivery of the names of three captives they are set to release from the strip today under the truce agreement.

Hamas reaffirmed its commitment to the deal’s terms, attributing the delay to "technical field reasons."

Netanyahu instructed the Israeli military to continue its operations until the list was handed over, with airstrikes continuing beyond the initial deadline. The Palestinian Civil Defense said that airstrikes on Sunday morning killed ten Palestinians and injured 25 others.

Those killed included some of the hundreds of Palestinians who took to the streets in Gaza from the early hours of Sunday morning to celebrate the ceasefire.

Many began a journey on foot to return to their homes in Rafah, the north, and areas further east in the strip — areas from which Israeli forces had displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Journalist Anas al-Sharif reported early on Sunday morning that dozens of residents returned to northeast Gaza, including the Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Shujaiyya neighborhoods, which Israeli forces have been directly targeting in operations since the end of 2024.

The Israeli military continued to shell civilians in Shujaiyya on Sunday morning, however, killing three people and injuring 20 others, Sharif later reported.

In south Gaza’s Khan Younis, an Israeli strike hit an ambulance belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, injuring a paramedic and damaging the vehicle, according to the relief agency’s statement, which also reported ongoing shelling near the Quds Hospital that it operates.

Qassam Brigades military spokesperson Abu Obeida finally named the three prisoners: Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; and Doron Shtanbar Khair, 31, after which Israel confirmed receipt of the names and announced that the ceasefire had begun.

A final list of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange is yet to be disclosed. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office stated on Sunday morning that Israel is expected to hand over a list of 90 names of women and children expected to be released on Sunday in exchange for the three captives set to be released from Gaza.

The ceasefire deal stipulates Israel’s release of 30 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for each Israeli civilian woman released from the strip. A higher number of Palestinian prisoners are to be released in exchange for Hamas releasing soldiers and men. 

The prisoner exchange is expected to take place later in the day, the first of daily releases to take place over the first 42 days of the initial ceasefire period. 

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that the 42 days would see 33 Israeli prisoners released, including women, women soldiers, and children, while Egypt said on Saturday that 1,890 Palestinians in total are due to be released in the first phase.

Negotiations are ongoing regarding phases two and three of the deal, which are intended to lead to a full ceasefire and determine outstanding issues, including the management of the Rafah border crossing and governance in Gaza going forward.

While many residents immediately began to return to their homes, even in the hours before the Israeli announcement, Hamas’s Government Media Office stated that displaced residents should be able to return to their areas seven days after the ceasefire takes effect.

Meanwhile, footage aired by Al Jazeera showed dozens of Palestinian police officers deployed across Gaza. The Government Media Office announced that thousands of officers had been mobilized as part of a government plan to maintain security and order across Gaza’s governorates.