GAZA: The first three Israeli hostages returning home under a long-awaited Gaza truce were transferred to the Red Cross, a Hamas official and the Israeli military said.

The hostages, all women, "were officially handed over to the Red Cross" in Gaza City ahead of their return to Israel, the senior Hamas official told AFP.

It came hours after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in the morning, nearly three hours later than scheduled, after more than 15 months of war.

During the delay, Israel's military said it was continuing to operate, with the territory's civil defence agency reporting 19 people killed and 25 wounded in bombardments.

Minutes after the truce began, the United Nations said the first trucks carrying sorely needed humanitarian aid had entered the Palestinian territory, as displaced, war-weary Palestinians set off across the devastated Gaza Strip to return to their home areas.

Thousands of people carrying tents, clothes and their personal belongings were seen going home, after the war that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's population, in many cases more than once.

In the northern area of Jabalia, hundreds streamed down a sandy path, returning 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.

Another returning 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.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 20 2025

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