Who are the 3 women hostages returned to Israel? Gaza ceasefire begins as captives go home

The Gaza ceasefire came into force at 11.15 am local time after the first three women hostages were handed over to IDF. Hamas had sent Israel the list of three hostages who were released on Sunday, said a senior Hamas official.

The move has been confirmed by Israeli officials too. This marks the first step of the 42-day-long ceasefire that begins on Sunday. The truce had been delayed by around three hours.

The hostages were handed over to Israeli Defense Forces by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In return for each of the three hostages, 30 Palestinian security prisoners imprisoned by Israel were also released. 

Who are the 3 women released by Hamas?

Doron Steinbrecher, 31, Emily Damari, 28, and Romi Gonen, 24, are the three women who were returned on Sunday afternoon, according to Hamas.

The other women held by Hamas are Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33, Arbel Yehud, 29, Agam Berger, 21, Danielle Giboa, 20, Karina Ariev, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19.

Israel had earlier claimed that Hamas failed to provide the names of the hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the truce deal would only begin after Israel got the names. Following this, the Israeli Defence Forces launched airstrikes, killing eight Palestinians.

Hamas had clarified that the delay was due to "technical" issues but assured that the hostages names would be released soon.

The first phase of the ceasefire, which will last for 42 days, will see 33 hostages being released over six weeks. After the release of three women on Sunday, four more will be released on the seventh day. Three each will be handed over in the following four weeks and remaining 14 on the final week.

Israel said it has recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier who was killed in 2014. IDF said it will continue to make efforts to bring back the body of another solider, Hadar Goldin, who was also killed in 2014.