hello, i hello, lam hello, i am samantha simmonds. the long—awaited ceasefire in gaza has begun. it had been due to take effect at 8:30am local time but was delayed after hamas failed to give israel the names of the first of the hostages to be released. the three, orwomen, are hostages to be released. the three, or women, are expected to be released in and around and hours�* time. israel confirmed a short while ago that it now has those names. they are romi gonen, doron steinbrecher and emily damari. 31—year—old doron steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who was in her apartment in kibbutz kfar aza when hamas attacked. emily damari, 28, holds dual british israeli nationality. she was taken from kibbutz kfar aza. 24—year—old romi gonen was ambushed as she tried to escape

from the supernova festival. earlier, israel continued to carry out strikes on gaza. ten people have been killed today, according to the hamas run gaza civil defence agency. in gaza, thousands of displaced people clutching tents, clothes and other belongings have already begun heading back to their homes. families, many with young children, thronged the roads in cars and trucks, others have loaded all they have onto donkey carts, or are walking with large bags on their backs. armed hamas fighters have driven through khan younis, chaired by chanting crowds. pro—hamas media have reported israeli forces withdrawn from areas around rafah city. well, my colleaguejonah fisher is at a hospital on the outskirts of

tel aviv, where they are expecting to receive released hostages today. welcome to you, take us through the preparations being made and the expectations. preparations being made and the expectations-_ expectations. yeah, so what we are expecting — expectations. yeah, so what we are expecting to _ expectations. yeah, so what we are expecting to happen - expectations. yeah, so what we are expecting to happen is - expectations. yeah, so what we are expecting to happen is that l are expecting to happen is that in an hour�*s time, these three female hostages that were named this morning, doron steinbrecher, emily damari, a british israeli national, and romi gonen, will be taken by hamas inside gaza to the red cross. they will then be taken by the red cross to the israeli forces inside gaza, who will bring them outside the gaza strip to one of three reception points that have been prepared. their needs will be immediately assessed, but almost certainly they will then be put in a helicopter and brought here to the sheba medical centre on the outskirts of tel aviv, one of the biggest hospitals in the middle east. we understand from the accounts of what happened in october the 7th at two of

those women sustained injuries in the course of being taken, so it is very likely that they will be in need of medical attention when they are brought in. you might be able to see behind me there is a fence, we are expecting a full tarpaulin to be put up a the space behind me to give the hostages privacy as they arrive here. this could also be the place where the hostages are reunited with their families after 15 months being held in gaza. coli tell us what more we know about the three women expecting to be released, possibly as soon as one hour�*s time. released, possibly as soon as one hour's time.— one hour's time. three civilians, _ one hour's time. three civilians, doron - one hour's time. three - civilians, doron steinbrecher, a veterinary _ civilians, doron steinbrecher, a veterinary nurse _ civilians, doron steinbrecher, a veterinary nurse who - civilians, doron steinbrecher, a veterinary nurse who was i a veterinary nurse who was taken from kibbutz, as are, just across from the gaza border, she was attacked by

hamas in october the 7th. also included, we are expecting emily damari, 28 years old, raised in south—east london, a british israeli national, a tottenham hotspurfan, they tottenham hotspur fan, they have tottenham hotspurfan, they have even chanted her name at football matches back in the uk, so she is expected to be included as well, as is romi gonen, 2a years old, she was at the music festival when it was attacked by hamas on october the 7th 2023, and she was actually on the phone to her mother as the vehicle she was in that was attempting to flee the music festival and flee the hammers attacks when she was hijacked by hamas and taken into gaza. so we believe that she sustained some gunshot injuries and could well be in need of medical attention. we

know what _ need of medical attention. we know what an incredibly difficult, tense time it is going to be for the families of these women as the minutes ticked down to the moment when they hope to see their loved ones again, and we have heard from emily damari�*s mother, saying she will not believe it until she has a daughter in her arms. . y ., until she has a daughter in her arms. ., i. until she has a daughter in her arms. ., ., , arms. yeah, you can only imagine _ arms. yeah, you can only imagine what _ arms. yeah, you can only imagine what they - arms. yeah, you can only imagine what they last, l arms. yeah, you can only- imagine what they last, well, obviously the last 15 months have been awful, but the last 24 have been awful, but the last 2a hours has been like for those families, waiting to find out whether their daughters were going to be included on this list. there was another delay this morning, which delayed the start of the ceasefire, because hamas had not handed over the names to the israeli authorities, so once again one can only imagine how that felt. it had been widely speculated that it would be three women who would be the first to be released by hamas, but this could possibly, you know, there are many things that could go wrong, we have to be honest about that, there is no trust between hamas and israel, many things could go

wrong in this process, but this could possibly be the start of a whole series of hostage releases over the next six weeks, phased releases which in then would have reciprocal releases of dozens of palestinian prisoners out of israeli jails. d0 palestinian prisoners out of israeli jails.— israeli “ails. do we know, after israeli jails. do we know, after the _ israeli jails. do we know, after the release - israeli jails. do we know, after the release of - israeli jails. do we know, | after the release of these three women expected in the coming hours, what happens next? it is 33 people expected to be released, most of those alive, we expect some of them to be bodies, unfortunately, over the next six weeks, we know how that will proceed? indie know how that will proceed? we have a know how that will proceed? - have a pretty good idea, these are 33 names that have been circulated quite widely, they are, for the most part, children, women, the elderly, the sick and injured, not men of military age, so we are expecting them to be released in phases, possibly the next one in a week or so�*s time, but

there arejust so one in a week or so�*s time, but there are just so many moving parts in this complex ceasefire agreement, and that will all be happening, the palestinian releases should also be happening in a reciprocal way, and within gaza itself, we are going to be seeing israeli pull—backs, which has all been very carefully negotiated between the israeli and hamas delegation through mediators in qatar, and what we should be seeing today is also a big increase in the amount of aid getting into the gaza strip, as part of the agreement it is stipulated that 600 tracks per day should be able to get back into gaza, carrying food and medical equipment, fuel for generators, that is hugely important, so we are expecting, if all these different bits go according to plan, that we will see some hostages today and, without aid getting gaza, one would imagine a quite significant improvement in the quality of life for the people who are living there. at, quality of life for the people who are living there. a huge number of — who are living there. a huge number of people _

who are living there. a huge number of people from - who are living there. a huge number of people from the l who are living there. a huge - number of people from the media at that hospital waiting for those first images of those three hostages, and back in november 2023, the last time there was a hostage release deal, there images did come quite quickly, it is something that people across the country and israel will be desperate to see. ., ., and israel will be desperate to see, ., ., ., see. yeah, we are not exnecting. _ see. yeah, we are not expecting, to - see. yeah, we are not expecting, to be - see. yeah, we are not expecting, to be quite see. yeah, we are not- expecting, to be quite frank, to see the hostages when they make it here, we are expecting, as you can see behind me, they are putting up the tarpaulins so that when they do arrive at this hospital, probably in the evening here, they will be shielded from all public view. i think what we will most likely see some pictures, possibly some video, released by the israeli authorities of what has been going on behind the scenes. because this is obviously going to be an intensely private, difficult moment for the families and the hostages, many of the hostages, some of the hostages may well

have, you know, medical issues that need to be addressed, it has psychologically been an extremely difficult experience for 15 months, being stuck in gaza, being held in gaza while the israeli bombardment has continued. so for the most part, we are expecting may be to see the helicopter arrived here, for them to be driven in, but clearly this is a moment that they may not want to share directly with the outside world, so it could well be that we just get a picture is given to us by the israeli authorities.- to us by the israeli authorities. , ., ., , ., authorities. jonah fisher at sheba hospital _ authorities. jonah fisher at sheba hospitaljust - authorities. jonah fisher atj sheba hospitaljust outside authorities. jonah fisher at - sheba hospitaljust outside tel aviv, thank you. israel�*s foreign minister david a news conference a short time ago, he said the ceasefire could have happened much sooner had hamas released the hostages. lbw; released the hostages. any agreement _ released the hostages. any agreement with _ released the hostages. any agreement with a - released the hostages. in; agreement with a terror organisation is a bad event. releasing terrorists from our jails is a heavy price with

risks, and there are also other dimensions, including risks. we are facing, as you know, we had this friday a very serious debate in the government meeting. one of the factions, as you know, quit from the government. there is a public debate. i don�*t undermine the arguments of those who 1516 00:10:39,190 --> 00:10:3