Gaza ceasefire begins as Hamas names British woman among three Israeli hostages to be released
Share:
Long-awaited truce on knife edge, worrying families of hostages and civilians in Gaza. Hamas has named the three female hostages it plans to release on Sunday, clearing the way for the Gaza ceasefire to begin after a shaky several hour delay. The fragile long-awaited agreement, brokered by the US and Qatar, was expected to come into effect at 8:30 am local time and pave the way for the end of 15 months of ruinous war. Under the first six-week phase, it would see the release of 33 hostages, including a British-Israeli citizen, as well as hundreds of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.
![[Emily Damari has been named as among three female hostages set for release]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/06/15/newFile-3.jpg)
However, moments before the truce, the Israeli premier accused the Palestinian militant group of not living up to its commitments by failing to provide the names of the three hostages due to be released later in the day. Even after the deadline past, Israeli airstrikes pounded northern and central Gaza.
![[The ceasefire was delayed until Hamas released a full list of names]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/18/22/Israel_Palestinians_71533.jpg)
Hours in to the ceasefire Hamas released the names: British-Israeli citizen Emily Damari, 28, Doron Steinbrecher,31 and Romi Goren, 24. Doron and Emily were both seized from Kfar Aza kibbutz, Romi was taken by militants from the Nova music festival. Hamas blamed the initial delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons,” stating that it remained committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.
![[Large parts of Gaza have been razed to the ground in the 15-month war]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/19/06/SEI236509621.jpg)
