Gaze ceasefire Day 1: Hamas frees hostages, Israel releases Palestinian prisoners

A Palestinian prisoner is welcomed by a relative upon the arrival of some 90 prisoners set free by Israel in the early hours of January 20, 2025 in the occupied West Bank town of Beitunia, on the outskirts of Ramallah. Crowds cheered, chanted and honked car horns as two buses carrying the prisoners arrived in Beitunia following their release as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal that began on January 19 and saw three Israeli hostages freed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

GAZA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters): Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the first day of a ceasefire suspending a 15-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East.

The truce allowed Palestinians to return to bombed-out neighborhoods to begin rebuilding their lives, while relief trucks delivered much-needed aid. Elsewhere in Gaza, crowds cheered Hamas fighters who emerged from hiding.