The first three fighters freed from Gaza have been transferred to the Israeli army, the army announced on Sunday, hours after the end of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli journalists, with footage from Qatar-based Al Jazeera, showed the hostages walking on Red Cross vehicles as their group passed through Gaza City. The vehicles were accompanied by armed men wearing green Hamas stripes who struggled to protect the vehicles from the unruly crowd that swelled to thousands.

Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, tens of thousands of people gathered to watch the news on giant screens that swelled with excitement. For months, many gathered in this square to demand an end to the war.

The deal brings an initial six-week period of calm and offers hope for the release of dozens of hostages and an end to a devastating 15-month war. A last-minute delay by Hamas delayed the start of the deal by nearly three hours and highlighted its weakness.

Even before the ban began, celebrations broke out across the region and some Palestinians began to return home. Israel has already announced the names of the first three hostages to be released for the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners later on Sunday.

The agreement, which began at 11:15 a.m. local time, is the first step toward ending the conflict and returning the nearly 100 people abducted in a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

An Israeli official confirmed that Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were the hostages who were to be released on Sunday. Gonen was kidnapped at the Nova music festival, while others were kidnapped at Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Damari is a citizen of Israel and Britain.

The official, who has not been named in accordance with the law, said the families have agreed to the publication of the names.

Between 8:30 am and the end of the fire, Israeli fire killed at least 26 people, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. It did not say whether they were civilians or fighters. The army has warned people to stay away from Israeli soldiers as they retreat into the enclave inside Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister has announced that his group, Jewish Power, is leaving the government in protest of the cease-fire agreement. The departure of Itamar Ben-Gvir will weaken the coalition of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but will not destroy the agreement.

Separately, Israel announced that it had found the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, during a special operation in Gaza. The bodies of Shauli and another soldier, Hadari Goldin, remained there after the 2014 war and were not returned.

A formal agreement

A ceasefire agreement was announced last week after a year of mediation by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. The outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign both pressed for a deal to be reached before Monday’s inauguration.

Netanyahu on Saturday warned that he has Trump’s support to continue fighting if necessary.

The first 42-day phase of the ceasefire should see 33 prisoners return from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Many Palestinian refugees must return to their homes.

There is also supposed to be humanitarian aid, hundreds of vehicles enter Gaza every day, more than Israel previously admits. The United Nations World Food Program said vehicles began entering two crossings after the ceasefire was implemented.

This is the second cessation of hostilities in the war, longer and more important than the week’s rest in November 2023, and is able to end the fighting for good.

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Negotiations for the second, more difficult phase of the ceasefire are due to begin in just two weeks. Big questions remain, including whether the war will resume after the first phase and how the rest of the hostages in Gaza will be freed.

Palestinians celebrate even though they are late

Across the Gaza Strip, celebrations broke out as people hoped for a respite after the fighting killed thousands, devastated large areas and displaced many.

Masked terrorists appeared at other celebrations, as crowds chanted in support, according to the Associated Press in Gaza. The Hamas-run police force began dispersing the crowd after little sleep due to Israeli airstrikes.

Some families set off on foot to return home, carrying their belongings on carts.

South of the city of Rafah, the people of the country returned to find great destruction. Others found human remains including skulls in the ruins.

“It’s like watching a Hollywood horror movie,” resident Mohamed Abu Taha told the AP as he toured the ruins of his family’s home.

The Israelis were divided over the ceasefire agreement

In Israel, people remained divided over the deal.

Asher Pizem, 35, from the city of Sderot near Gaza, said he was looking forward to the return of the hostages but said the deal only stopped another conflict with Hamas. He also criticized Israel for allowing aid to Gaza, saying it would help revive the terrorist group.

“They will take time and attack again,” he said as he watched the smoldering ruins of Gaza from a small hill in southern Israel and other Israelis gathered there.

Israel’s cabinet approved the ceasefire earlier on Saturday during an unusual part of the Jewish Sabbath, two days after the mediator announced the deal.

Great payoff

The war’s damage has been extensive, and new developments are now emerging. The head of the town of Rafah in Gaza, Ahmed al-Sufi, said that the Israeli army destroyed a large part of the infrastructure, including water, electricity and roads, in addition to thousands of houses.

More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which says women and children account for more than half of the casualties but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel that started the war killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the militants kidnapped about 250 others. More than 100 of those held hostage were released during a ceasefire week in November 2023.

About 90 percent of Gazans have fled their homes. The United Nations says buildings, health systems, roads and other essential infrastructure have been severely damaged. Reconstruction – if the ceasefire is finally reached – will take several years. Big questions about the future of Gaza, political and otherwise, remain unanswered.

Here are the three hostages released on Sunday:

Romi Gonen, 24 years old

Romi Gonen was abducted from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. That morning, Gonen’s mother, Merav, and her eldest daughter spent nearly five hours talking to Gonen as the gunmen ransacked the the place of the festival. Gonen told his family that roads littered with abandoned cars prevented them from escaping and that they would hide in the bushes.

Then he said the words that still echo in his mother’s head every day. “Mom, I was shot, the car was shot, everyone was shot. …I’m injured and I’m bleeding. Mom, I think I’m going to die,” said Romi, in a press conference a few weeks after the kidnapping.

Helpless, Merav Gonen tried to convince his daughter that she would not die, so that she could start breathing and heal her wounded friends. According to Merav, Gonen’s last words on the call were a scream of “Mother!” the approach of the guns and the shouts of the men interrupted everything.

Then the phone hung up. Israeli authorities discovered the location of his phone in Gaza.

Over the past 15 months, Merav has been one of the most outspoken advocates for the return of hostages, appearing almost daily on Israeli programs and traveling abroad for commissions.

“We are doing everything we can so that the world does not forget,” Merav told The Associated Press on the six-year anniversary of the Hamas attack. “Every day we wake up and take a deep breath, take a deep breath, and keep moving, keep doing the things that will bring him back.”

Emily Damari, 28 years old

Emily Damari is a British-Israeli citizen who was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, an agricultural village that has been hit hard by Hamas. He lived in a small house where young people live, very close to a kibbutz in Gaza. Terrorists breached the kibbutz’s border fence and destroyed the neighborhood.

Damari’s mother, Mandy, said she likes music, traveling, soccer, good food, karaoke and hats. Kibbutz Kfar Aza said that Damari is often “the glue that holds together a group of close friends” and is always organizing gatherings of friends near the best barbecue corner in the whole kibbutz.

“I still have the hope that I still keep in my heart that he will survive, even though he is suffering,” said Mandy Damari in front of Damari’s burned house last January. “I am desperate, angry, and scared for his life.”

Doron Steinbrecher, 31 years old

Doron Steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who loves animals, and Damari’s neighbor at Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

At 10:20 on Oct. 7, 2023, Steinbrecher called his mother. “Mom, I’m scared. I’m hiding under the bed and I can hear them trying to get into my house,” recalled his brother Dor. He was able to send a voice message to his friends. “They’ve got me! They’ve got me! They’ve got me!” at the time of the robbery.

That message was very important in helping his family understand that Doron was kidnapped.

Steinbrecher was featured in a video released by Hamas on January 26, 2024, along with two other female Israeli soldiers. His brother said that the video gave them hope that he was alive but it caused concern because he looked tired, weak and weak.

In total, the terrorists killed 64 people and 22 soldiers, and kidnapped 19 people in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct 7. With the return of Steinbrecher and Damari, there are still three members of the kibbutz held in Gaza: American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65 , and twins Gali and Ziv Berman, 27.

With files from Melanie Lidman