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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Bel Trew

Gaza ceasefire begins as British woman among three Israeli hostages to be released

The last remaining British hostage inside Gaza is among three women Hamas militant group said it would release Sunday afternoon, as a long-awaited ceasefire finally came into effect following an eleventh-hour delay.

British-Israeli citizen Emily Damari, 28, Doron Steinbrecher,31 and Romi Goren, 24 are poised for release Sunday afternoon after over 15 months inside Gaza, as the truce finally came into effect around 11am local time.

Emily, whose mother was born in Surrey, and Doron were both seized by militants from Kfar Aza kibbutz on 7 October while Romi was taken from the Nova music festival. The British government welcomed the news adding “We stand ready to support her upon her release”. However the deal, which will also see a surge in much-needed humanitarian aid in to Gaza, nearly collapsed in the final hours.

Accusing Hamas of breaking the terms of the deal by not releasing names, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to continue its operations, with tanks and plans hitting northern and central Gaza past the original deadline of 8.30am local time. Hamas blamed the initial delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”. The first three hostages, whose physical conditions are not known, are expected to be released after 4pm local time.

Emily Damari has been named as among three female hostages set for release (Mandy Damari)

The last minute delay underscored the fragility of the deal, which was finally reached after a year of intense mediation by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.Families of the many hostages and trapped civilians in Gaza hope the long-fought for agreement will pave the way for the end of 15 months of ruinous conflict that has claimed the lives of over 46,000 people in Gaza and more than 1000 in Israel.

It has also devastate the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip, where 90 percent of the population has been displaced. Under the terms of the first six-week phases of the deal, Hamas is set to release 33 hostages, while Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.

Israeli forces will pull back into a buffer zone inside Gaza, and many displaced Palestinians will be able to return home. The devastated territory is also expected to see a surge in humanitarian aid.

The ceasefire was delayed until Hamas released a full list of names (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Negotiations on the far more difficult second phase of this ceasefire are set to begin in just over two weeks and see the remaining hostages released and more Palestinian prisoners. But there are concerns the war could resume once phase one is completed - especially as Netanyahu faces growing pressure from extreme right members of his coalition, including several ministers, resigned from his cabinet on Sunday over the deal. In Israel and beyond, families of the hostages were holding their breath right up to the wire.

Ms Damari’s family, who initially shied from speaking out publicly, were anxiously waiting for the return of their daughter - with one source close to them telling the BBC that it has been a “torturous” 471 and all her mother Mandy wanted to do “ is hug Emily”.

Mandy Damari, who has described her daughter as an avid Spurs fan who loved the UK, has spoken in the past about her fears Emily is dead. She told the BBC in December that Emily had been shot in the hand and suffered shrapnel wounds - and that even if she was alive “she’s not getting enough food to eat, she’s not able to wash herself, drink water, she could be ill.”

Emily was seized form her home in Kfar Aza on 7 October along with her friends Gali and Ziv Berman, who remain in captivity, and Doron Steinbrecher who is slated for release on Sunday as well. Ms Doron, 31, is a veterinary nurse who has a chronic illness and needs daily medicine. She was taken by militants from her home where she lived alone, her sister told The Independent at the end of last year.

The last message she sent was a voice note to friends at 10.30am that day where she shouted repeatedly “they caught me”. The only proof of life the family have had since then was when she appeared in a Hamas video 107 days later, in January 2024, in which she begged for help.

Romi Goren, 24, also on the list to be released, who lives in Kfar Vradim was seized from the Nova Festival on 7 October. Her sister Yarden said at a gathering for the hostages in the US last week, she nearly escaped but she “ambushed”, shot in the hand and “dragged by her hair” to Gaza. Her best friend was killed in front of her.

The families of the three declined to speak in the immediate lead up to their release. In Hostage Square - the rallying point for relatives of the hostages - Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Chaimi was killed on 7 October and his body taken by militants to Gaza, said the families were “thrilled” that at least three hostages were saved and their relatives “can end the continuous hell that they have been living in”.

Large parts of Gaza have been razed to the ground in the 15-month war (REUTERS)

“But at the same time I am incredibly tense and nervous because a lot can go wrong today. A lot can go wrong between today and next week,” he told The Independent. “And [for] the families of the hostages which are not within the list of 33 it is a long struggle ahead of us. “In Gaza, families who have been displaced multiple times, lost dozens of family members and lived through famine, said they were also nervous.

Some began returning to their homes in parts of Gaza City early Sunday, with photos shared online of families transporting their belongings on horseback through the destruction.Others who were displaced further south said it was too dangerous to move and return home until Israeli forces fully withdrew from the “Netzarim” military corridor - a stretch of land occupied by Israeli forces which effectively cuts Gaza in two. Israeli forces are due to withdraw from the area in the initial phase of the deal.

In “Mawasi” so-called humanitarian zone where more than a million displaced people are sheltering mostly in tents, Essam Rajab, 38, from north Gaza said his family barely survived 15 months of fierce bombardment, hunger, disease, and living in a tent.

He talked about the enormous task ahead to rebuild Gaza. “You are talking about people whose past has been erased and every horizon of the near future has been erased, everything we have has faced massive destruction and damage. Everything has to be built from nothing,” he told The Independent.

Palestinian prisoners are also due to be released Sunday afternoon. Families of the detainees were also anxious. Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list of 734 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the deal’s first phase last week  - among them dozens of women and minors, with the youngest detainee being just 16 years old.

Rana the sister of Raed Al-Hajj Hamad, 42, who was set to be released on Sunday as part of the prisoner swap said they were “waiting impatiently for the moment” they would see him.Raed, who is from Gaza, was arrested in 2004 when he was 21 and sentenced to 20 years in jail according to his family he completed his sentence he completed last January but was not released because of the war.

Additional reporting by Nedal Hamdouna in Gaza

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