Tel Aviv/Gaza: A long-delayed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas finally came into force in the Middle East on Sunday. Three Israeli female hostages were released in the Gaza Strip, who were taken to Israel by a Red Cross team. Earlier, Israel had refused to implement the ceasefire by not providing a list of hostages to be released by Hamas and 10 people were killed in an air strike on Gaza. However, only after Hamas finally handed over the list of three hostages did Israel implement a ceasefire at 9.15 am, ending the 15-month war in the Gaza Strip.
Before Donald Trump takes oath in America on Monday, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas finally came into force on Sunday. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was due to take effect on Sunday morning, but Hamas refused to hand over to Israel a list of hostages to be released and launched airstrikes on Gaza, killing 10 Palestinians.
Amid Israeli attacks, Hamas has announced that three female hostages will be released on Sunday. Along with this, he also handed over the list of three women to Israel, after which Israel stopped the attacks. Thus, under the agreement between Israel and Hamas, the implementation of the ceasefire started with a delay of three hours at 9.15 am instead of 6.30 am on Sunday. Hamas has blamed technical reasons for the delay in handing over the list to Israel.
Hamas said the Azzedine al-Qassam Brigades released three Israeli female hostages, Romi Gonen, Emily Damri and Doron Steinbrecher, as part of a prisoner swap deal.
According to reports, the three hostages were handed over to the Red Cross amid a huge crowd and the presence of armed Hamas gunmen in Gaza City’s Saraya Square. Red Cross workers took the hostages to Israel, where they were first medically examined. With this, the first obstacle to the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been removed.
According to the agreement between Israel and Hamas, the first phase of the ceasefire will last for six weeks, during which Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages. At the same time, on the first day, Israel will also release 90 Palestinians imprisoned in its jails. President Joe Biden, who is leaving the United States with the implementation of the ceasefire, said the guns in Gaza have fallen silent after 15 months with the end of hostilities in the Middle East. Just got a phone call saying that three Israeli female hostages have been released. The deal presented for the Middle East in May last year has finally come into force.
Four more women will be released in the next seven days, Biden said. After this, three more hostages, including at least two American citizens, will be released every seven days. The second phase of the ceasefire would include the release of Israeli troops and negotiations to permanently end the war without Hamas coming to power or being able to threaten Israel.
