Three women held captive by Hamas for more than 15 months have been released as a tenuous ceasefire settles over Gaza.
The Israeli women were among those captured during the terror group's bloody surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
They are the first to be released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire agreement, while dozens of Palestinian prisoners are also to be released.
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The ceasefire ushers in an initial six weeks of calm and raises hopes for the release of nearly 100 remaining hostages and an end to the devastating 15-month war.
A last-minute delay by Hamas put off the truce's start by nearly three hours, but the spokesman for Hamas' military wing later said it is committed to the ceasefire.
Next up was the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners later Sunday. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
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Families and friends gathered excitedly as cars honked and people waved the Palestinian flag.
The outgoing US Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump's team had both pressed for an agreement to be reached before the inauguration on Monday.
Netanyahu on Saturday warned that he had Trump's backing to continue fighting if necessary.
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The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire should see 33 hostages gradually returned and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released.
The next release of hostages is expected on Saturday.
There also should be a surge of humanitarian aid, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza daily, far more than Israel allowed before.
The UN World Food Program said trucks started entering through two crossings. Biden's top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, told CBS 800 trucks were expected to flow in Sunday.
This is just the second ceasefire in the war, longer and more consequential than a week-long pause in November 2023, with the potential to end the fighting for good.
Negotiations on the ceasefire's far more difficult second phase should begin in just over two weeks.
Major questions remain, including whether the war will resume after the first phase.
Celebrations noentheless have broken out across Gaza, with masked militants at some, where crowds chanted slogans in support of them, according to Associated Press reporters in Gaza. The Hamas-run police began deploying in public after mostly lying low due to Israeli airstrikes.
Some families set off for home on foot, their belongings loaded on donkey carts.
In the southern city of Rafah, residents returned to find massive destruction. Some found human remains in the rubble, including skulls.
"It's like you see a Hollywood horror movie," resident Mohamed Abu Taha said as he inspected the ruins of his family's home.
Already, Israeli forces were pulling back from areas. Residents of Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya in northern Gaza told the AP they didn't see Israeli troops there.
One resident said they saw bodies in the streets that appeared to have been there for weeks.
In Australia, Palestinian activists and Gazan families have celebrated the beginning of the ceasefire, but organisers in Melbourne say weekly rallies will continue until a more permanent end to the war.
With Associated Press.
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