Israel-Hamas ceasefire: Gaza ceasefire deal begins as British citizen among first hostages set for release

The last remaining British national being held in Gaza has been named by Hamas as one of three hostages set to be freed on Sunday.

British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, was kidnapped during the October 7 attack and has been a hostage for 470 days.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “The UK Government welcomes the reports that British national Emily Damari is on the list of hostages to be released by Hamas today. We stand ready to support her upon her release.

“We urge both sides to implement all phases of the deal in full and for all hostages to be returned.”

Israel’s far-right national security minister resigned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet on Sunday to express his disapproval of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

The resignation of Itamar Ben-Gvir does not threaten the ceasefire, but it does weaken Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

It was the latest act of defiance by the 48-year-old ultranationalist settler leader who transformed himself over the decades from an outlaw and provocateur into one of Israel’s most influential politicians.

In his Cabinet post, Ben-Gvir oversaw the country’s police force. He used his influence to encourage Netanyahu to press ahead with the war in Gaza and recently boasted that he had blocked past efforts to reach a ceasefire.

He also has paid multiple visits to Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site — the contested hilltop compound that houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque — including last month. The move, while legal, was seen as a provocation, violated a longstanding ban on Jewish prayer there, and threatened to disrupt months of sensitive negotiations.

Ben-Gvir has been convicted eight times for offences that include racism and supporting a terrorist organization. As a teen, his views were so extreme that the army banned him from compulsory military service.

His political rise was the culmination of years of efforts by the media-savvy lawmaker to gain legitimacy. But it also reflected a rightward shift in the Israeli electorate that brought his religious, ultranationalist ideology into the mainstream and diminished hopes for Palestinian independence.

The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza has come into effect after a delay in the list of 33 Israeli hostages due to be freed threatened to derail the truce.

Fighting finally stopped after an almost three-hour delay on Sunday, which saw continued airstrikes kill eight Palestinians and injure 25 others, according to medics in Gaza.

However peace began at 9.15am UK time, with the first three hostages set to be freed after 2pm.

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Fighting in the Gaza Strip halted on Sunday as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas took effect after a brief delay, pausing a 15-month-old war that has brought devastation and seismic political change to the Middle East.

Residents and a medical worker in Gaza said they had heard no new fighting or military strikes since about half an hour before it was finally implemented.

Israeli airstrikes, artillery and tank attacks continued in northern Gaza after the initial deadline of 6:30am GMT, Gaza-based paramedics said, killing at least 13 Palestinians and wounding dozens more before the ceasefire actually took effect at 9:15am GMT.

Israel’s military said it had carried out air and artillery strikes against “terror targets”.

In a press release, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomed the “exciting news” that three of the female hostages would be released on Sunday.

They described Romi Gonen, 24, as an “energetic, funny, family-oriented and full of life” individual, who had enjoyed dancing and travelling before she was kidnapped from the Nova Festival. She has four siblings and two parents, Meirav and Eitan, who are anxiously awaiting her release.

Also to be released is 31-year-old veterinary nurse Doron Steinbrecher from Kfar Gaza, who loves sports and running, and had cared for animals since childhood. “Her family describes her as a devoted aunt who is especially loved by her nephews,” they said.

British-Israeli citizen Emily Damari is the third hostage to be released, who has been described as “well-loved and popular, a friend to everyone”. She is a central figure in the local Kfar Aza youth community and enjoys karaoke nights and barbecuing. She was captured alongside two friends who remain in captivity.

Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 46,913 Palestinians and injured 110,750 since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said in an update on Sunday.

The highly anticipated ceasefire deal could help usher in an end to the Gaza war, which began after Hamas, which controls the tiny coastal territory, attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s response has reduced much of Gaza to rubble.

Hamas said Israel is set to hand over a list with the names of 90 Palestinian prisoners to be released on Sunday in exchange for three Israeli female hostages held by the militant group in Gaza.

In a statement, Hamas said the prisoners, to be released on the first day of the ceasefire in Gaza’s 15-month-old war, included women and children.

Thousands of Palestinians burst into the streets across Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Sunday, some in celebration, others to visit the graves of relatives, while many rushed back to their homes.

“I feel like at last I found some water to drink after getting lost in the desert for 15 months. I feel alive again,” Aya, a displaced woman from Gaza City, who has been sheltering in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip for over a year, told Reuters via a chat app.

Armed Hamas fighters drove through the southern city of Khan Younis, with crowds cheering and chanting, despite an almost three hour delay in the implementation of the agreement, which follows 15 months of devastating conflict.

Hamas policemen, dressed in blue police uniform, deployed in some areas after months of trying to keep out of sight to avoid Israeli airstrikes.

People who had gathered to cheer the fighters chanted “Greetings to Al-Qassam Brigades.”

“All the resistance factions are staying in spite of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu,” one fighter told Reuters, referring to Hamas armed wing.

“This is a ceasefire, a full and comprehensive one God willing, and there will be no return to war in spite of him.”

Two Egyptian sources have said that 200 aid trucks have arrived at the Kerem Shalom cross ahead of entry into Gaza.

At least 20 of these trucks are carrying fuel, while the UNRWA previously said that half were carrying food and flour.