BASHAR TALEB Bashar Taleb / AFP via Getty Images
Bashar Taleb / AFP via Getty Images
Displaced Palestinians carried belongings as they walked through the devastation in Rafah, in southern Gaza, today after the ceasefire took effect.
Hamas has begun deploying thousands of Palestinian police officers in the Gaza Strip as it reopens offices and streets following the ceasefire deal, according to a statement released by the government’s media office this morning.
“We announce the beginning of deploying thousands of Palestinian police officers according to the government plan to maintain security and order in various governorates of the Gaza Strip, and municipalities have also begun to reopen and rehabilitate streets shortly after the ceasefire decision came into effect,” the office stated.
It added that Palestinian ministries and government institutions were “fully prepared” to begin working according to the government plan to implement all measures that “ensure the return of life to normal as soon as possible and gradually.”
The first trucks with aid from the World Food Programme have started crossing into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings, carrying ready-to-eat parcels and wheat flour, the U.N. agency announced in a post on X.
The organization says it can provide more than 30,000 tons of food each month to reach more than 1 million people, and aims to deliver food daily along the crossing points into Gaza from Egypt, Jordan and Israel.
The WFP called for all border crossings to remain open and function efficiently.
OMAR AL-QATTAA / AFP – Getty Images
Jabalia, in northern Gaza, is one of the enclave’s historical refugee camps and had been under heavy Israeli bombardment in recent weeks.
After today’s Angelus prayer, Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to the mediators of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. He said he hopes the hostages can finally return home and embrace their loved ones, and called for large quantities of aid to quickly reach the Gazans “who so urgently need it.”
He expressed hope for further dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, saying “I hope that the political authorities of both, with the help of the international community, can reach the right solution for the two states. Everyone can say: yes to dialogue, yes to reconciliation, yes to peace. And let us pray for this: for dialogue, reconciliation and peace.”
Israel is expected to hand over the names of 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including women and children, who are set to be released today as part of the ceasefire agreement, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said in a statement.
The 90 names will come from a pre-agreed list of 120 prisoners, with the ceasefire agreement stipulating that 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released for every one Israeli hostage. Three hostages are expected to be released today.
Large plumes of smoke were seen over northern and central Gaza after the expected start of the ceasefire was delayed for nearly three hours, but is now in effect.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right Israeli national security minister, resigned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government today in protest of the ceasefire agreement and hostage exchange.
The resignations represent a significant blow to Netanyahu, who relied on Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit Party to maintain his fragile coalition government. Two other two ministers from the Otzma Yehudit Party, Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Amichai Eliyahu, also tendered their resignations along with Ben-Gvir.
“A word is a word, we will not agree to a reckless deal. My friends in Otzma Yehudit and I submitted our resignation letters from the government and the coalition this morning,” Ben-Gvir posted on X today.
The minister had threatened to resign earlier this week, arguing that Netanyahu should “take steps” that would lead to the defeat of Hamas and the release of our hostages “without abandoning Israel’s security,” including completely stopping the transfer of humanitarian aid and fuel, electricity, and water to Gaza, along with continuing the military crushing of Hamas.
On Sunday, Ben-Gvir also urged the finance minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him in resigning from the government. “Although you did not help me prevent the first stage of the surrender deal, at least help me prevent its second stage,” he posted on X, adding that “we will return together only if the Prime Minister orders the IDF to return to a decisive war with force.” Smotrich has so far not resigned from his post.
Hamas has released the names of three hostages, all young women, who will be released today in the first part of the ceasefire agreement.
The Hostages Families Forum has released details on the three women, and said the organization “awaits their safe return to Israel to be reunited with their families after 471 days in Hamas captivity.”
Doron Steinbrecher, named by Hamas as Doron Shtanbar Khair, age 31, was taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7. She works as a veterinary nurse, has two siblings, and loves sports and running. She is described as a devoted aunt who loves her nephews.
Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, Doron SteinbrecherThe Hostages and Missing Families Forum
Romi Gonen, age 24, was taken from the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7. She has four siblings, and friends and family say she is energetic, funny, family-oriented, and full of life, according to the Hostages Families Forum.
Emily Damari, age 28, is a British-Israeli citizen who was also taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7., along with her friends Gali and Ziv Berman and Doron Steinbrecher. Her friends describe as a key figure in the kibbutz’s youth community and a lover of barbecuing, karaoke and hats.
The Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, is prepared to receive the three hostages expected to be released from Gaza today, the facility said in a statement.
The medical center said it was “committed to preserving the dignity and privacy of the returning captives and their families.”
The Israeli military confirmed to NBC News it has halted military operations in Gaza under the ceasefire deal.
Asked to confirm whether military operations in Gaza had halted and whether a ceasefire was underway in the enclave, the IDF’s situation room said “yes.”
Israel had said the ceasefire was expected to come into effect at 11:15 a.m. local time (4:15 a.m. ET) after an hourslong delay, but did not make an announcement at that time. Asked to confirm that a ceasefire was underway after 11:15 a.m., a spokesman for Netanyahu reiterated the expected start time.
At least 19 people were reported to have been killed and more than 36 injured in Gaza today after the ceasefire expected to go into effect this morning was delayed, Gaza’s Civil Defense agency said.
At least nine deaths were reported in Gaza City and three deaths reported in the enclave’s north, Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said in a statement published to Telegram.
Since the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced Wednesday, fighting in Gaza and a series of deadly airstrikes have killed more than 115 people.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that attacks by Israeli forces this morning had injured one EMT, Maha Wafi, who was en route to evacuate the wounded in central Khan Younis. A PRCS ambulance was also reportedly damaged.
PRCS posted on X that its team at the Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City had been at risk when the hospital came under attack by Israeli forces.
Israel’s military continued attacks on Gaza after Israeli officials had delayed the ceasefire’s original start time of 8:30 a.m. Israel said that the ceasefire would begin about three hours later, but it is unclear whether military operations had stopped by 11:15 a.m. as announced.
At least 95 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Kerem Shalom crossing this morning, according to the Cairo Press Center.
The trucks were being examined by Israeli authorities, and it is unclear how many trucks were allowed entry into Gaza.
Palestinians in Gaza could be seen moving en masse across the enclave this morning in video captured by NBC News’ crew on the ground, appearing to be unaware that today’s expected ceasefire had been delayed.
Displaced Palestinians walking north from Gaza City today. OMAR AL-QATTAA / AFP – Getty Images
In video captured by NBC News’ crew, large crowds of families could be seen moving to the area of Rafah in southern Gaza mostly on foot, with one family riding on a cart pulled by a donkey. “To Rafah, to Rafah, inside, in Gaza,” a smiling young boy exclaims as he steers the cart.
Many appeared to be unaware that the ceasefire had in fact been delayed, with Israel saying it would not move forward until it had received the names of the three hostages expected to be released today. It later announced it had received the names but was still running checks on the information.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it was continuing to strike parts of the enclave, with Gaza’s Civil Defense agency reporting at least 19 people killed since 8:30 a.m., when the ceasefire had originally been expected to get underway.
The first three female hostages to be released under the ceasefire deal are expected to be freed from Hamas captivity after 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) Israel has said.
The families of the hostages held in Gaza were updated with list of three names provided by Hamas to Israel this morning via mediators, the Coordinator for Hostages, Returnees, and Missing Persons in Netanyahu’s office said in a statement this morning.
Four additional living hostages are expected to be released in seven days, the statement said, adding that their families would be informed of the names of those to be released 24 hours prior to that date.
The first phase of the ceasefire deal will come into effect at 11:15 a.m. local time (4:15 a.m. ET), Netanyahu’s office has said.
It comes after a delay to the ceasefire, which was initially scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET), with Israel attributing the delay to Hamas’ failure to provide a list of the names of the three hostages expected to be released today.
Hamas attributed the delay to “technical” difficulties on the ground, but said it had provided the list to mediators earlier this morning. Israel confirmed it had received the list shortly afterward but said it still needed to perform checks before the ceasefire could get underway.
Israel has received the list of the three female hostages expected to be released by Hamas today, but is still “checking the details” before a ceasefire can move forward, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said.
Netanyahu’s office said the families of the hostages named on the list had been informed through representatives of the IDF. But it urged caution in reporting the details of the list, saying “the security system is currently checking the details.”
It said more information would follow.
Israel has now received the names of the three female hostages who are due to be released first by Hamas, an official has confirmed.
They are Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, the official said. All three are civilians.
Hamas’ military spokesman listed the same names in a public statement earlier this morning.
Hamas has provided the list of the three hostages who were expected to be released today to mediators, but the list has yet to be received by the Israeli side, an Israeli official told NBC News.
It is not clear when the list is expected to be provided to Israel. Israeli officials have said a ceasefire will not take place until they have the list.
Hamas confirmed it handed the list over to mediators.
Hamas has released the names of the three female hostages expected to be released in today’s ceasefire once it takes effect.
They are Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher, according to Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military arm, in a statement published on Telegram just now.
Israeli officials have yet to confirm that the list has been received, with Netanyahu spokesman David Mencer telling NBC News there was “nothing to confirm officially at this time” ahead of Hamas’ statement.
Israel announced that the ceasefire expected to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET) today had been delayed after saying the list of the three names of the first hostages to be released had not been received from Hamas.
At least ten people were reported to have been killed in Gaza in the hour after the ceasefire expected to go into effect this morning was delayed, Gaza’s Civil Defense agency said.
At least five deaths were reported in Gaza City with three deaths reported in the enclave’s north, with more than 25 people injured, Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said in a statement published to Telegram this morning.
He said that death toll had been recorded between the time the ceasefire was expected to be “implemented” at around 8:30 a.m. this morning local time (1:30 a.m. ET) and 9:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. ET.)
It came as the IDF said it continued to strike parts of Gaza in northern and central areas of the enclave under the delay in the ceasefire taking effect.
It was not immediately clear how many Palestinians in Gaza would have been aware of the delay, with a limited lack of access to the internet and cell service under Israel’s offensive. NBC News’ crew on the ground reported that many Palestinians had begun looking to move north after the time the ceasefire was expected to go into effect.
Several people were killed and injured by Israeli forces as the fighting in Gaza continued shortly after Israel announced a delay in implementing a ceasefire.
NBC News crews on the ground saw at least three people dead and dozens injured at a hospital in Gaza City, and received reports of shooting and injuries in Rafah, in the enclave’s south.
Earlier, thousands of people had begun returning to areas of the Gaza Strip, including Rafah and Jabalia, in anticipation of the ceasefire and expected withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Hundreds of trucks to be used to bring aid into Gaza were seen heading toward border crossings this morning, shortly after Israeli officials said the ceasefire was delayed.
NBC News crews saw the trucks going toward the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Israel and the Rafah crossing with Egypt this morning.
A surge in humanitarian aid is a key part of the agreement, and it is unclear how the delay in the ceasefire will affect the entry of aid into Gaza today.
Just minutes after announcing that a ceasefire deal with Hamas was delayed, Israel said it had continued striking targets in Gaza.
The strikes by artillery and aircraft were carried out in northern and central Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
“The IDF remains ready in defense and offense and will not allow any harm to the citizens of Israel,” it said.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was delayed from going into effect Sunday morning in the Gaza Strip after Israeli officials said Hamas had yet to provide a list of names of the hostages it planned to release under the truce deal agreed days ago.
The ceasefire deal was expected to take effect at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET). But Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in an on-camera statement around that time that under the directive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ceasefire would not take effect “as long as Hamas fails to fulfill its commitments.”
“The IDF continues its operations inside the Gaza area at this moment, as long as Hamas does not adhere to the agreement and with all that it entails,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has instructed the nation’s armed forces that the 8:30 a.m. Sunday local time (1:30 a.m. ET) start of the ceasefire will not begin as scheduled until Israel gets a list of hostages to be freed under the deal with Hamas militants.
After a “security situation assessment” focused on the delay by Hamas to provide a list of hostages, Netanyahu ordered Israel Defense Forces to forgo the ceasefire for the time being, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office released the morning the plan was to go into effect.
“The Prime Minister instructed the IDF that the ceasefire, which is supposed to go into effect at 8:30, will not begin until Israel has the list of freed hostages, which Hamas has pledged to provide,” the office said.
On Sunday, Hamas blamed the delay on “technical reasons in the field,” and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire. It would come more than two years after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel and the latter’s response in the form of all-out war on the militant group in neighboring Gaza.
The long-awaited ceasefire, desired by the administration of President Joe Biden as he bids farewell to the White House this weekend, was approved by the Israeli government just after midnight on Saturday.
Two Israeli Americans are among the 33 Israeli hostages who were scheduled to be released from Gaza on Sunday as part of the ceasefire agreement.
