Gaza ceasefire begins after Hamas names hostages set for release

The ceasefire in Gaza has officially begun following an almost three-hour delay, after Hamas named the hostages it plans to release on Sunday.

Israel had earlier said it was continuing to fight in Gaza until the names were handed over in accordance with the agreement, and at least eight people were killed in an air strike on the territory on Sunday morning, according to Palestinian officials.

Hamas blamed a delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”, but later published them on social media.

Nearly three hours after the ceasefire was originally supposed to start at 8.30am local time, officials said it had begun.

Celebrations erupted across the war-ravaged territory, and some Palestinians began returning to their homes, even as the delay underscored the fragility of the agreement.

The deal sets in motion a long and uncertain process aimed at ultimately ending the war and returning nearly 100 hostages abducted in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered it.

Meanwhile, the party of Israel’s hard-line national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said its Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations from the government on Sunday in opposition to the ceasefire. The departure of the Jewish Power party weakens Mr Netanyahu’s coalition but will not affect the ceasefire.

In a separate development, Israel announced it had recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier who was killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, in a special operation.

The bodies of Mr Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, remained in Gaza after the 2014 war and had not been returned despite a public campaign by their families.