First Israeli hostages freed as Gaza truce begins

The first three Israeli hostages were released Sunday under a long-awaited Gaza truce aimed at ending more than 15 months of war that has ravaged the Palestinian territory.

As the ceasefire took effect in the morning, thousands of displaced, war-weary Palestinians set off across the devastated Gaza Strip to return home.

In the northern area of Jabalia, hundreds streamed down a sandy path, heading back to an apocalyptic landscape piled with rubble and destroyed buildings.

"We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it's our home," said Rana Mohsen, 43, back in Jabalia.

An initial 42-day truce brokered by Qatari, US and Egyptian mediators is meant to enable a surge of sorely needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, as Israeli hostages are to be released in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.

The first three hostages, all women, were reunited with their mothers shortly after being taken back to Israel by security forces.

Hamas fighters had handed over the trio -- Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher -- to Red Cross officials in a bustling square in Gaza City surrounded by a sea of people including gunmen.

"After 471 days Emily is finally home," said her mother Mandy Damari, but "for too many other families the impossible wait continues".

In central Tel Aviv, there was elation among the crowd who had waited for hours in a plaza dubbed "Hostage Square".

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group hailed their return as "a beacon of light", while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had emerged "from darkness".

Dozens of Palestinian prisoners are due to be released by Israel in exchange later on Sunday.

A total of 33 Israeli hostages, 31 of whom were taken by militants during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, are due be returned from Gaza during the initial truce in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians.

The next hostage-prisoner swap would take place on Saturday, a senior Hamas official told AFP.

- 'Nothing left' -

Minutes after the truce began, the United Nations said the first trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid had entered the Palestinian territory.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the truce, saying "it is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security and political obstacles to delivering aid".

The truce is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war, but a second phase has yet to be finalised.

It came into effect nearly three hours later than scheduled. During the delay, Israel's military said it was continuing operations, with the territory's civil defence agency reporting 19 people killed and 25 wounded in bombardments.

Thousands of Palestinians carrying tents, clothes and their personal belongings were seen going home on Sunday, after the war that displaced the vast majority of Gazans, in many cases more than once.

Returning Jabalia resident Walid Abu Jiab said he had found "massive, unprecedented destruction", with "nothing left" in Gaza's war-battered north, which has seen intense violence over the past months.

In the southern city of Rafah, Ahmad al-Balawi said that "as soon as I returned... I felt a shock."

"Entire areas have been completely wiped out", he told AFP, describing "decomposing bodies, rubble, and destruction everywhere".

Aid workers say northern Gaza was particularly hard-hit, lacking all essentials including food, shelter and water.

The UN's OCHA humanitarian agency said the first trucks started entering following the truce.

An Egyptian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "260 trucks of aid and 16 of fuel" entered on Sunday. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had said 600 trucks a day would cross into Gaza.

The World Health Organization said it was ready to pour much-needed aid into Gaza but that it would need "systematic access" across the territory to do so.

Warning the "health challenges ahead are immense", the Geneva-based agency estimated the cost of rebuilding Gaza's battered health system in the years to come at "billions in investment".

"Only half of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain partially operational, nearly all hospitals are damaged or partly destroyed, and just 38 percent of primary health care centres are functional," the WHO said.

- 'Commitment' to truce -

On the eve of the ceasefire, Netanyahu called the first phase a "temporary ceasefire" and said Israel had US support to return to the war if necessary.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said its adherence to the truce would be "contingent on the enemy's commitment".

US President Joe Biden, whose administration has been involved in months of mediation efforts, welcomed the ceasefire taking hold on Sunday, saying that "after so much pain, death and loss of life, today the guns in Gaza have gone silent".

The war's only previous truce, for one week in November 2023, also saw the release of hostages held by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas's October 7 attack, the deadliest in Israel's history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage, 91 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

The truce took effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration for a second term as president of the United States.

Trump, who claimed credit for the ceasefire deal, told US network NBC on Saturday that he had told Netanyahu the war "has to end".

"We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done," he said.

Under the deal, Israeli forces will withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow displaced Palestinians to return "to their residences", Qatar's prime minister said in announcing the deal.

burs-ami/dv