Phase one of the deal states that Hamas officials will release a total of 33 hostages, many of whom are children, women and people over 50. In return, Israeli officials will release 50 Palestinian prisoners held in their jails for every Israeli female soldier released by Hamas, and 30 Palestinian prisoners for other hostages held by Hamas.

Only a trickle of aid is reaching the area, leaving the Palestine Red Crescent Society teams in Gaza delivering lifesaving aid with much reduced resources. Beatrice Butsana-Sita, chief executive British Red Cross, says: "Before the conflict around 500 ...

Israel has freed 90 Palestinians, seven hours after the first three Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

Israel intensified strikes on Gaza hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced, residents and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said, and mediators sought to quell fighting ahead of the truce's start on Sunday.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect on Sunday morning. Hostages held in the strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be freed in the first phase of the deal. Meanwhile,

By Mohammed Salem, Nidal al-Mughrabi and James Mackenzie GAZA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Palestinians poured into the streets to celebrate and return to the rubble of their bombed-out homes on Sunday,

The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza said there could be as many as 10,000 bodies buried under rubble all across the strip, as many displaced Gazans try to return to their homes under a nascent ceasefire agreement.

Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, on the first day of a ceasefire suspending a 15-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East.

The first hostages held by Hamas since October 7, 2023 were released Sunday morning, with 33 hostages expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Dalal Khaseeb, 53, the sister of former Hamas second-in-command Saleh Arouri, is also on the list, which was provided by Hamas. Arouri was killed in an Israeli strike in a southern Beirut suburb in January 2024.

A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday as Hamas released the first three female hostages it held for 15 months of the devastating war with Israel.