Gaza ceasefire begins after nearly 3-hour delay as Hamas names hostages to be released

A long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza began after a three-hour delay as Hamas named the three female hostages it plans to release later on Sunday. Israel had vowed to keep fighting until it received the names, as the long and uncertain process aimed at ending the war got off to a bumpy start.Celebrations erupted across the war-ravaged territory and some Palestinians began returning to their homes despite the delay, which underscored the fragility of the agreement. The trial, which started at 11:15 a.m. local time, is a first step towards ultimately ending the conflict and returning nearly 100 hostages abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered it.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Hamas had not lived up to its commitment to provide the names of the three hostages it was set to release in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.The names of the three hostages had not been handed over when the deadline for the trial to begin passed at 8:30 a.m. local time.Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesman, said the army “continues to attack” and would until Hamas complies with the agreement. The military later said it had struck a number of militant targets in northern and central Gaza.An Israeli airstrike killed at least eight people in the southern city of Khan Younis after the ceasefire was delayed. Nasser Hospital confirmed the casualties from Sunday’s strike, which it said had occurred around two hours after the truce was supposed to take effect.Gaza’s Health Ministry reported another three deaths from strikes on Sunday in Gaza City.Hamas had earlier blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons.” It said in a statement that it is committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.The party of Israel’s hard-line National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir meanwhile 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 Netanyahu’s coalition but will not affect the ceasefire.In a separate development, Israel announced that 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 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.The planned ceasefire, agreed after a year of intensive mediation by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, is the first step in a long and fragile process aimed at winding down the 15-month war.Netanyahu said he had instructed the military that the ceasefire “will not begin until Israel has in its possession the list of hostages to be freed, which Hamas committed to provide.” He had issued a similar warning the night before.The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire should see a total of 33 hostages returned from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released. Israeli forces should pull back into a buffer zone inside Gaza, and many displaced Palestinians should be able to return home. The devastated territory should also see a surge in humanitarian aid.This is just the second ceasefire in the war, longer and more consequential than the weeklong pause over a year ago, with the potential to end the fighting for good.Negotiations on the far more difficult second phase of this ceasefire should begin in just over two weeks. Major questions remain, including whether the war will resume after the six-week first phase and how the rest of the nearly 100 hostages in Gaza will be freed.