The ceasefire was delayed after Israel said Hamas had failed to produce the names of the first three hostages expected to be released on Sunday under the truce.

It paves the way for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. It started three hours later than expected. Hamas said the delay was connected to "technical field reasons,

A ceasefire in Gaza has come into effect, putting a halt to more than 15 months of devastating war. The agreement was set to be enforced earlier Sunday but was delayed by almost three hours when Hamas failed to provide on time the list of three female hostages that it would release on the first day.