Three Israeli hostages returned and 90 Palestinian detainees released as part of ceasefire deal
Three Israeli hostages have been reunited with their families, while 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in return in a ceasefire deal that has put an end, for now, to 15 months of bitter war in Gaza.
Amid a chaotic crowd in Gaza, the Israeli hostages were handed by masked, armed gunmen to the Red Cross on Sunday, before being transferred to the Israeli military and then entering southern Israel.
All three were in a stable condition, Sheba Medical Center said, and authorities released footage of them fiercely hugging their families and sobbing.
“An entire nation embraces you,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The three women were pictured smiling in a Hamas photo shortly before their release. Pic: Reuters
Meanwhile, Palestinian families welcomed the 90 prisoners freed by Israel early on Monday morning, with crowds gathering to celebrate with the first bus of detainees in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
All are from the occupied West Bank or East Jerusalem. The youngest is a 15-year-old boy from East Jerusalem. Two 17-year-olds, a boy and a girl, were also named.
Israel had detained them for what it said were offences related to Israel’s security, from throwing stones to more serious accusations like attempted murder.
Pic: Reuters
One of the three hostages released by Hamas was 28-year-old British-Israeli Emily Damari, who was shot in the hand and taken to Gaza during the 7 October attack that sparked the war in 2023.
The other two hostages freed on Sunday were 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, abducted from the same Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel as Ms Damari, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was taken from the Supernova music festival.
(Clockwise) Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and Romi Gonen
Doron Steinbrecher hugged her mother, Simona, upon reuniting in Israel. Pic: IDF/Reuters
Emily Damari’s mother, Mandy Damari, thanked “everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal”.
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Released Israeli hostages reunite with families
Relief and grief in ravaged Gaza
In Gaza, Palestinians have been both celebrating the relief from the bombing and grieving the loss of loved ones and livelihoods.
Some started the trek back through the rubble to what is left of their bombed-out homes, hoping to pick up any pieces of their lives.
At least two thirds of buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. Pic: Reuters
“I feel like at last I found some water to drink after getting lost in the desert for 15 months. I feel alive again,” said a woman from Gaza City, who had been sheltering in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip, for over a year.
Gazans were both celebrating the end to the bombing and mourning the loss of killed loved ones and homes they’d found destroyed. Pic: Reuters
Ceasefire arrived after last minute delay
The long-sought ceasefire for Gaza was delayed before it eventually took effect at 11.15am local time on Sunday (9.15am UK time).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire, which had been due to start at 6.30am, would not begin until Israel received the names of the three hostages to be released.
After receiving the list, his office confirmed in a statement the ceasefire had started.
Read more:
What we know about British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari
One father hopes the ceasefire will bring his son home
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What happens on day one of the Gaza ceasefire?
Hamas blamed the delay on “technical field reasons”, during which time Israel continued to launch military strikes on Gaza, killing a further 13 people, and injuring dozens, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said.
The Israeli military said it struck “terror targets”.
Medics reported tanks firing at the Zeitoun area in Gaza City, and said an airstrike and tank fire also hit the northern town of Beit Hanoun, sending residents who had returned there in anticipation of the ceasefire fleeing.
An explosion in northern Gaza as the ceasefire was delayed. Pic: Reuters
Sky’s Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said he understood these technical issues may have been related to Hamas’s difficulties passing messages between its leadership in Gaza. It has long avoided using mobile phones to prevent detection by the Israeli military.
“Many in Israel will naturally blame Hamas for playing games,” Bunkall said.
“The mediating teams knew the ceasefire would be shaky, they knew that there would be bumps in the road and have encouraged both Israel and Hamas to remain calm as any difficulties are worked through.”
Read more:
What do Israelis think of the Gaza ceasefire deal?
The most prominent Palestinians held in Israeli jails
A timeline of events since the 7 October Hamas attack
As the fragile ceasefire started, Israeli forces started withdrawing from parts of Gaza, allowing thousands of displaced Palestinians to begin the journey back to their battered homes.
Two-thirds of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or obliterated, the United Nations Satellite Centre found back in September.
Weary residents returning to Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza found their homes reduced to rubble.
A Palestinian woman returns to what is left of her home in Jabalia. Pic: Reuters
Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced since the start of the war. Pic: Reuters
A deal hard-won
The deal was agreed by Israel’s cabinet on Friday night after a breakthrough in negotiations – mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt – was announced on Wednesday.
Its first stage will last six weeks, during which 33 of the remaining 94 hostages – women, children, men over 50, the ill and wounded – will be released in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The Palestinians to be set free include 737 male, female and teenage prisoners, some of whom are members of militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, as well as hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza in detention since the start of the war.
The pause in fighting is also supposed to enable humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged territory. The UN World Food Program said trucks started entering through two crossings on Sunday.
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Rafah: Gazans return home
470 days of war
The war began after Hamas militants rampaged into Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted another 250 on 7 October 2023.
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants, but say women and children make up more than half the dead.
US President Donald Trump is putting “heavy” pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, two sources close to the ceasefire negotiations have told Sky News.
One US source said: “The US pressure on Israel has begun, and tonight it will be heavy.”
The source, who is not authorised to speak publicly, was referring to the White House dinner on Monday night between Trump and Netanyahu.
A second Middle Eastern diplomatic source agreed that the American pressure on Israel would be intense.
Benjamin Netanyahu gave Donald Trump a letter saying he had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. Pic: AP
Netanyahu arrived in Washington DC in the early hours of Monday morning and held meetings on Monday with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser.
The Israeli prime minister plans to be in Washington until Thursday with meetings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Trump has made clear his desire to bring the Gaza conflict to an end.
However, he has never articulated how a lasting peace, which would satisfy both the Israelis and Palestinians, could be achieved.
His varying comments about ownership of Gaza, moving Palestinians out of the territory and permanent resettlement, have presented a confusing policy.
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‘Israel has shifted towards economy of genocide’
Situation for Palestinians worse than ever
Over the coming days, we will see the extent to which Trump demands that Netanyahu accepts the current Gaza ceasefire deal, even if it falls short of Israel’s war aims – the elimination of Hamas.
The strategic objective to permanently remove Hamas seems always to have been impossible. Hamas as an entity was the extreme consequence of the Israeli occupation.
The Palestinians’ challenge has not gone away, and the situation for Palestinians now is worse than it has ever been in Gaza and also the West Bank. It is not clear how Trump plans to square that circle.
Read more:
Explainer – What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza
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‘Some Israeli commanders can decide to do war crimes’
Trump’s oft-repeated desire to “stop the killing” is sincere. Those close to him often emphasise this. He is also looking to cement his legacy as a peacemaker. He genuinely craves the Nobel Peace Prize.
In this context, the complexities of conflicts – in Ukraine or Gaza – are often of secondary importance to the president.
If Netanyahu can be persuaded to end the war, what would he need?
The hostages back – for sure. That would require agreement from Hamas. They would only agree to this if they have guarantees on Gaza’s future and their own future. More circles to square.
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Trump 100: We answer your questions
Was White House dinner a key moment?
The Monday night dinner could have been a key moment for the Middle East. Two powerful men in the Blue Room of the White House, deciding the direction of the region.
Will it be seen as the moment the region was remoulded? But to whose benefit?
Trump is a dealmaker with an eye on the prize. But Netanyahu is a political master; they don’t call him “the magician” for nothing.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Trump makes decisions instinctively. He can shift position quickly and often listens to the last person in the room. Right now – that person is Netanyahu.
Gaza is one part of a jigsaw of challenges, which could become opportunities.
Diplomatic normalisation between Israel and the Arab world is a prize for Trump and could genuinely secure him the Nobel Peace Prize.
But without the Gaza piece, the jigsaw is incomplete.
World
IDF presence in Gaza ‘only issue’ still to be resolved in push for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Sky News understands
Only one issue remains unresolved in the push to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Sky sources.
Intense negotiations are taking place in Qatar in parallel with key talks in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations have told Sky News that disagreement between Israel and Hamas remains on the status and presence of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza.
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Gaza ceasefire deal in progress
The two sides have bridged significant differences on several other issues, including the process of delivering humanitarian aid and Hamas’s demand that the US guarantees to ensure Israel doesn’t unilaterally resume the war when the ceasefire expires in 60 days.
On the issue of humanitarian aid, Sky News understands that a third party that neither Hamas nor Israel has control over will be used in areas from which the IDF withdraws.
Benjamin Netanyahu briefed reporters on Capitol Hill about the talks on Tuesday. Pic: AP
This means that the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – jointly run by an American organisation and Israel – will not be able to operate anywhere where the IDF is not deployed. It will limit GHF expansion plans.
It is believed the United Nations or other recognised humanitarian organisations will adopt a greater role.
On the issue of a US guarantee to prevent Israel restarting the war, Sky News understands that a message was passed to Hamas by Dr Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian American who has emerged as a key back channel in the negotiations.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Read more from Sky News:
Trump puts pressure on Netanyahu
Netanyahu backs Trump for peace prize
Potential Gaza deal explained
The message appears to have been enough to convince Hamas that President Trump will prevent Israel from restarting the conflict.
However, there is no sense from any of the developments over the course of the past day about what the future of Gaza looks like longer-term.
Final challenge is huge
The last remaining disagreement is, predictably, the trickiest to bridge.
Israel’s central war aim, beyond the return of the hostages, is the total elimination of Hamas as a military and political organisation. The withdrawal of the IDF, partial or total, could allow Hamas to regroup.
One way to overcome this would be to provide wider guarantees of clear deliverable pathways to a viable future for Palestinians.
But there is no sense from the negotiations of any longer-term commitments on this issue.
Two key blocks have been resolved over the past 24 hours but the final challenge is huge.
The conflict in Gaza erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 20 hostages are believed to remain alive in Gaza.
Israel has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
World
‘Widespread sexual violence’ took place during Hamas’s 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says
A newly released report led by Israeli legal and gender experts presents detailed evidence alleging “widespread and systematic” sexual violence during the Hamas-led terror attack on 7 October.
Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence
The findings, published by the Dinah Project, argue that these acts amount to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and assert that “Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war”.
The report draws on 18 months of investigation and is based on survivor testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with first responders, morgue personnel and healthcare professionals.
According to the Dinah Project, the documented patterns – such as forced nudity, gang rapes, genital mutilation, and threats of forced marriage – indicate a deliberate and coordinated use of sexual violence by Hamas operatives during the attack.
Reported incidents span at least six locations, including the Nova music festival, and several kibbutzim in southern Israel.
A destroyed car near the police station in Sderot, following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Pic: AP
One section of the report describes victims “found fully or partially naked from the waist down, with their hands tied behind their backs and/or to structures such as trees and poles, and shot”.
At the Nova music festival and surrounding areas, the investigators found “reasonable grounds to believe” that multiple women were raped or gang-raped before being killed.
The report’s findings are consistent with earlier investigations by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Read more:
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza
The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict previously concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” CRSV took place during the attack.
Destroyed vehicles near the grounds of the Supernova electronic music festival. Pic: AP
Significantly, the Dinah Project urges the international community to officially recognise the use of sexual violence by Hamas as a deliberate strategy of war and calls on the United Nations to add Hamas to its list of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The nature and scale of sexual violence on 7 October have been a subject of intense controversy, with some accusing parties of weaponising the narrative for political ends.
This report seeks to confront what its authors call “denial, misinformation, and global silence,” and to provide justice for the victims.
Hamas has denied that its fighters have used sexual violence and mistreated female hostages.
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