Israel says Gaza ceasefire delayed until Hamas provides list of hostages – BBC.com
Ninety Palestinian prisoners have been released as part of the first phase of a long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli prison service has said Most of them were women and children – who were greeted with hugs and cheers upon their arrival in the occupied West Bank Three Israeli hostages were earlier released by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza City hours after a ceasefire began, before being handed to the Israeli militaryThe women released by Hamas – 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, and Romi Gonen, 24 – are being treated in a Tel Aviv hospital, and are in a stable conditionEmily was seen with bandages over two missing fingers, hugging her mother, in a video call shared with the BBC’s Lucy ManningHamas says for every hostage released, 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails The ceasefire in Gaza came into force after a last-minute delay, but joy faded as Palestinians returned to their destroyed homesThis video can not be playedHugs and tears: How Israeli hostage return unfoldedEdited by Gavin ButlerA Palestinian woman sits atop the rubble that used to be her home in RafahWith a ceasefire now in place, thousands of displaced Palestinians are heading back home today – returning to find their houses flattened.For Rana Mohsen, 43, who fled Gaza City to seek refuge in Jabalia, it has been a long time coming. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for 16 months,” the mother-of-three tells AFP news agency, “My joy is indescribable. We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it’s our home.”The roof of her home is all that remains and the extent of the destruction is “unimaginable”, she says, adding that “buildings and landmarks have completely disappeared, as if it were a ghost town or abandoned cities”.Similar scenes greeted Ahmad al-Balawi, who’s just returned to Rafah.”As soon as I returned to the city, I felt a shock”, he told AFP.”Decomposing bodies, rubble, and destruction everywhere. Entire areas have been completely wiped out.”Yesterday, in anticipation of today’s ceasefire, Gaza’s health ministry urged Palestinians returning home to stay away from bodies and to call the authorities to remove them. Lucy ManningSpecial correspondentEmily Damari can be seen smiling as she hugs her mother as they speak on a video call after her releaseIt is a smile that says she is free. Emily Damari hugs her mother, both of them radiating joy while on a video call with her brother. The family at last reunited after the darkness of her captivity in Gaza.The British-Israeli national was shot in the hand and dragged from her home in southern Israel on 7 October 2023.She was also injured by shrapnel and saw her dog Choocha shot and killed.On Sunday, 471 days later, 28-year-old Emily was among the first three hostages to be released as part of the long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.Her mother Mandy, who has spent that time campaigning for her release, has now achieved her aim of being able to hug her daughter once again.”After 471 days Emily is finally home,” Mrs Damari wrote in a statement.”I want to thank everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal, and who never stopped saying her name… Thank you for bringing Emily home.”L-R: Daniela Gilboa, Elkana Bohbot and Naama Levy are among the hostages still believed to be in captivityWe’ve been reporting that three Israeli women have been freed on the first day the ceasefire deal came into effect. A total of 33 people taken hostage since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023 are expected to be released in the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel.According to Israel, 91 hostages are still unaccounted for, although only 57 are believed to be alive.In addition, Hamas is still holding two men seized after crossing into Gaza from Israel before the war. Read more on the hostages who are still being held by Hamas.Earlier on Sunday evening, US President Joe Biden confirmed that four more Israeli women hostages will be released in the next week, echoing what the Israel Defense Forces had said earlier.”And three hostages every seven days thereafter including at least two Americans in this first phase,” Biden said in a post on X, external. “We pray for their long recovery ahead.”The US, alongside Qatar and Egypt, had sought to mediate this ceasefire for months. Earlier in the day, Biden reflected on the hostage and ceasefire deal in one of his last speeches as president of the US, saying that the Middle East has been “fundamentally transformed”.Palestinian prisoners’ families waited for news on a hill near Ofer prison on SundayThe BBC had earlier spoke to Diash Dara, who yesterday was waiting for her sister Hadil to be released. Her sister, she says, is a 32-year-old university administrative worker who was detained without charge for seven months.Diash says she is feeling “happy” about her sister’s release, but also “confused a little bit because of what happened in Gaza”.”The most important thing is that they stopped the war in Gaza. Even if she wasn’t released today, we [would] be ok with it. But at least the war has been ended.”You can read more about the mood in the West Bank as the ceasefire takes effect here.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has thanked Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani for his “critical role” in mediation efforts that culminated in the ceasefire, the US Department of State said. “The secretary highlighted the need to continue advancing post-conflict planning for Gaza, expressed his gratitude for the prime minister’s support and wished him well on continued efforts to build lasting peace in the region,” the department said in a statement, external. A Palestinian woman cries as she embraces a loved one who was released from jailIf you’re just joining us now, here’s a quick look at what’s happened over the past few hours: Stay with us as we bring you the latest.Earlier we reported that Palestinian politician Khalida Jarrar is believed to be among those freed. We’re now seeing images of her being greeted by family and well-wishers as she arrives in Ramallah early on Monday.Jarrar is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group designated a “terrorist organisation” by Israel, the US and the European UnionJarrar hugs a relative as she arrives in Ramallah, a city in the occupied West BankOne of the first Palestinian prisoners to be released told AFP news agency her journey towards freedom began at 03:00 on Sunday, where she was taken from her prison and moved to another closer to the Israel-Gaza barrier.Bushra al-Tawil, a Palestinian journalist who was taken prisoner in March 2024, said she first learned she would be freed from other inmates who had attended a hearing. “The lawyers told them the (ceasefire) deal had been announced and was in the implementation phase,” she said.”The wait was extremely hard. But thank God, we were certain that at any moment we would be released.”She remains worried about her father, who is still a prisoner in an Israeli jail, though she says she has received news that he would be released subsequently as part of the ceasefire deal.As we mentioned earlier – the ceasefire deal is one that comes in three stages. The first six-week phase of the deal sees 33 hostages – including women, children and elderly people – exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.Israeli forces will also withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to begin returning to their homes and hundreds of aid lorries will be allowed into the territory each day.Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli troop withdrawal and a return to “sustainable calm” – are then due to start on the 16th day.The third and final stage involves the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies and the reconstruction of Gaza – something which could take years.But unanswered questions remain – including which hostages are alive or dead, or whether Hamas knows the whereabouts of all those who remain unaccounted for.More pictures are rolling in after the Palestinian prisoners’ release.Here are some of the latest images we’ve seen showing the moments that the Palestinians were reunited with their families:A freed Palestinian prisoner cries as she is reunited with her daughterCrowds had gathered on the outskirts of Ramallah to greet the returneesFreed Palestinian Rose Khwais is kissed by her father after her release from an Israeli jailWhile celebrating the much-awaited ceasefire deal, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the journey ahead will be challenging for those in Gaza.The start of the hostage and prisoner release process “brings great hope for millions of people whose lives have been ravaged by the conflict”, says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.”It is a moment I have been calling and hoping for,” he says.However, he adds that “addressing the massive health needs and restoring the health system in Gaza will be a complex and challenging task, given the scale of destruction, operational complexity and constraints involved”.Palestinian politician Khalida Jarrar is among those believed to have been freed, according to several media outlets, including the Associated Press and the New York Times. Jarrar is a prominent leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group designated a “terrorist organisation” by Israel, the US and the European Union. She has been in and out of jail for much of the past decade, being previously convicted of charges like incitement. The task ahead is daunting for Gazans wishing to return to the shattered ruins of their homes.There is relief the fighting has stopped, but for the survivors there is little left for them to go back to.In this video, showing Deir al-Balah in Gaza, the BBC’s Fergal Keane hears what they hope their lives will look like now:This video can not be playedMore than 630 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Sunday, with at least 300 of them headed towards the north of the strip, says Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs. “There is no time to lose,” he says, before adding: This is a moment of tremendous hope – fragile, yet vital – as we continue to navigate the complexities of the days and weeks ahead.”UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairsGaza relies heavily on aid for food. In recent weeks, just 40 trucks of aid were getting in on average, while pre-conflict, around 500 trucks entered Gaza daily. The ceasefire deal requires 600 aid trucks to enter each day.Palestinians wave to the crowd from a Red Cross bus carrying released prisonersAll throughout Sunday, people have been gathering in the West Bank to greet the released Palestinian prisoners.It’s just past two in the morning there now – but as the buses carrying them rolled through the town of Beitunia, the crowds cheered, chanted and honked car horns in excitement.Inside the bus, a handful of the freed women smiled and flashed V-signs, while a Red Cross staff member watched on, according to the AFP news agency. As we’ve been reporting, 90 Palestinian prisoners have just been released as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons include 69 women and 21 teenage boys from the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to Hamas.According to the Reuters news agency, most of the people released today were recently detained and not tried or convicted. Over the first phase of the truce, Israel is expected to release about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, while Hamas is expected to release some 33 Israeli hostages. We’ve just received some pictures from the Reuters news agency showing crowds in the West Bank gathered around a bus carrying the freed Palestinian prisoners. Here are some of the latest photos:The Israeli prison service has said that 90 Palestinian prisoners have been released in the West Bank.As we’ve been reporting, the prisoners are being released as part of the first phase of a long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.It comes after three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza City earlier, on Sunday.We’ll continue to bring you the latest updates as we get them. A much-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas – which at
points this morning seemed on the verge of collapsing – has now come into effect.The first three hostages to be released from the militant group in Gaza have now returned to Israel – they were received at a hospital in Tel Aviv not
long ago and are said to be in “stable condition”.Here’s what else has been happening today:We’re continuing to follow this story closely and will bring you updates on the Palestinian prisoner release as soon as we get them. Stick with us.© 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
