Israel frees 90 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire takes hold after Hamas returns 3 Israeli hostages

A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday.

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Jan 17, 2025, 2:31 AM

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Updated 53 days ago

Israel frees 90 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire takes hold after Hamas returns 3 Israeli hostages

Below are updates on the latest developments on the Gaza ceasefire. This article will be updated as more developments occur. Text provided by The Associated Press.

President Joe Biden says “the guns in Gaza have gone silent” under a ceasefire deal he outlined in May.
Israel has freed 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over to Israeli forces there in the first test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The three hostages are Romi Gonen, 24, kidnapped from the Nova music festival, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday following an almost three-hour delay after Hamas was late to name the three hostage it plans to release.
The announcement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the ceasefire began at 11:15 a.m. local time (0915 GMT).
Israel’s Cabinet approved a deal early Saturday for a ceasefire in Gaza that would release dozens of hostages held there and pause the 15-month war with Hamas.
Mediators Qatar and the U.S. announced the ceasefire Wednesday.
Israel is preparing for the return of the hostages from Gaza with the expectation that many are likely to have severe, life-threatening complications after more than a year in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s justice ministry published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the deal’s first phase and said the release will not begin before 4 p.m. local time Sunday. All people on the list are younger or female
Netanyahu instructed a special task force to prepare to receive the hostages returning from Gaza and said that their families were informed a deal had been reached.