Closing summary
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Here is a quick recap of the momentous events of the past 24 hours that followed a ceasefire deal that come into effect on Sunday. Thanks for reading.
The ceasefire began with the release of three Israeli women held hostage by Hamas in tunnels beneath Gaza, ending a protracted ordeal that began with their violent abduction by Hamas on 7 October 2023. Among those released was joint British national Emily Damari, 28, who was freed alongside Romi Gonen, 24 and Doron Steinbrecher, 31. The women have been reunited with their mothers after being handed over by International Committee for the Red Cross.
The three are in a “stable condition” and will be monitored for a few days, according to a news conference at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv. A member of the hospital staff, Professor Itai Pessach, said: “I’m happy to report that they are in stable condition. That allows us and them to focus on what is the most important thing for now – reuniting with the families.”
90 Palestinian prisoners have also been released as part of the ceasefire deal. Those freed from Israeli prisons included 69 women and 21 teenage boys from the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to Hamas. The prisoners, most of whom were freed in the early hours of Monday from Ofer prison in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, were welcomed by thousands of people celebrating.
As the fighting ceased, hundreds of aid trucks queued to enter Gaza to deliver supplies to its 2.3 million residents, 90% of whom have been displaced by the conflict, many multiple times.
The World Health Organization says it is ready to pour much-needed aid into Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, but that it would need “systematic access” across the territory to do so. Much of the Gaza Strip’s health infrastructure has been destroyed by the more than year-long war.
The first phase of the truce took effect after a three-hour delay during which Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the Gaza Strip. The last-minute blitz killed 13 people, Palestinian health authorities said. Israel claimed it had struck terrorists although Al Jazeera reported that at least two missiles hit a family travelling on a donkey cart as they tried to return home.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians have started to return home, many to destroyed buildings and homes in ruins. There is no detailed plan in place to govern Gaza after the war, much less rebuild it. Nine in 10 homes have been destroyed as well as schools, hospitals, shops, mosques and cemeteries.
In Gaza, there was palpable relief at the prospect of six weeks without fighting and Israeli bombardment that so far has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children account for more than half the fatalities but does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
The skies above the besieged territory were free of Israeli warplanes for the first day since a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023 that freed over 100 hostages, offering Palestinians a chance to take stock of the devastation.
“This ceasefire was a joy mixed with pain,” Rami Nofal, a displaced man from Gaza City, explaining that his son was killed in an Israeli airstrike, told the Associated Press.
Triumphant Hamas militants appeared at some celebrations, as crowds chanted slogans in support of them. The Hamas-run police reemerged from months of hiding.
Some families set off for home on foot, their belongings loaded on donkey carts.
In the southern city of Rafah, residents returned to find massive destruction that they described as a dystopia. Some found human remains in the rubble.
“It’s like what you see in a Hollywood horror movie,” Mohamed Abu Taha said as he inspected the ruins of his family’s home.
