 "People walk past posters of hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7 2023 attack by Hamas. There's now a slight possibility that the hostage swap won't take place until Monday as opposed to Sunday. Reuters")
The highly anticipated Israel-Hamas ceasefire-hostage deal comes into effect after Hamas released the names of three female hostages who it says will be released first as part of the deal negotiated with Israel. The truce was delayed after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a ceasefire wouldn’t be implemented until the Palestinian group shared the names of the hostages. The ceasefire commenced imminently at 9:15 am (GMT)
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was supposed to be put into effect on Sunday at 6:30 (GMT). However, shortly before the deadline both Netanyahu and the Israeli Defence Force said that the ceasefire won’t be in place until Hamas shares a list of hostages who will be released in the first phase of the deal.
“The prime minister instructed the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) that the ceasefire, which is supposed to go into effect at 8:30 a.m., will not begin until Israel has the list of released abductees that Hamas has pledged to provide,” the prime minister’s office said on Sunday. An hour after the deadline, Hamas shared the names of three Israeli hostages on Telegram.
Who are they?
The three female Israeli hostages who will be released today are Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher. Here’s what is known about them as of now:
Doron Steinbrecher - The 31-year-old was working as a veterinary nurse. On October 7 at 10:30 am (local time), Steinbrecher was abducted from her apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza after militants of Hamas raided the southern Israeli town.
Romi Gonen - The 24-year-old was ambushed when she attempted to escape from the Supernova festival. In June last year, her mother addressed the UN Human Rights Council where she called for the international community’s support in the release of hostages from Gaza.
Emily Damari - a 28-year-old British-Israeli citizen was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. While addressing a memorial event in London on October 6, 2024, her mother Mandy said that hostages released last November had told her they had contact with Emily in captivity. Damari was the only British-Israeli hostage who was being held in Hamas.
Now that the ceasefire has come into effect, the bigger question will be how long the truce between Israel and Hamas will last.