Gaza ceasefire begins

A longawaited ceasefire in Gaza has begun after a nearly threehour delay The truce was postponed after Hamas did not name the three hostages it planned to release later on SundayIsrael vowed to keep fighting until it received the names which were posted on social media by Hamasrsquo armed wing around two hours later That appeared to pave the way for the start of the ceasefire which Israel said would begin at 1115 am local timeAirstrike kills 8 in GazaDeir AlBalahAn Israeli airstrike killed at least eight people in the Gaza Strip after the ceasefire was delayed Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis confirmed the casualties from Sundayrsquos strike which it said had occurred around two hours after the truce was supposed to take effectPalestinians celebrateDozens of people took to the streets in Gazarsquos southern city of Khan Younis to celebrate the ceasefire according to an Associated Press reporterFour masked and armed Hamas fighters arrived in two vehicles as the celebrations were underway with people welcoming them and chanting slogans in support of the militant groupThe Hamasrun police began deploying in public after mostly lying low for months due to Israeli airstrikes Gaza City residents said they had seen them operating in parts of the city and the AP reporter in Khan Younis saw a small number out on the streetsPalestinian residents began returning to their homes in Gaza City early Sunday even as tank shelling continued to the east closer to the Israeli border overnight Families could be seen making their way back on foot with their belongings loaded on donkey cartsDelay underscores fragility of dealSmoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Sunday PicPTIThe planned ceasefire agreed after a year of intensive mediation by the United States Qatar and Egypt is the first step in a long and fragile process aimed at winding down the 15month warNetanyahu said he had instructed the military that the ceasefire ldquowill not begin until Israel has in its possession the list of hostages to be freed which Hamas committed to providerdquo He had issued a similar warning the night beforeThe 42day first phase of the ceasefire should see a total of 33 hostages returned from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released Israeli forces should pull back into a buffer zone inside Gaza and many displaced Palestinians should be able to return home The devastated territory should also see a surge in humanitarian aidThis is just the second ceasefire in the war longer and more consequential than the weeklong pause over a year ago with the potential to end the fighting for goodNegotiations on the far more difficult second phase of this ceasefire should begin in just over two weeks Major questions remain including whether the war will resume after the sixweek first phase and how the rest of the nearly 100 hostages in Gaza will be freedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever