Gaza long-awaited ceasefire begins after 15 months fight; Palestinians start heading back to northern Gaza

A six-week ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has begun after a nearly three-hour delay following the agreement between Israel and the Islamic group Hamas.

The ceasefire was supposed initially to start at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, local time but came into effect at 11:15am local time (09:15 GMT) on Sunday after Hamas handed over a list of three female captives to be released as part of the deal to Israel through mediators.

But the Israeli military later announced it was continuing attacks in northern and central Gaza. Israel said Hamas had not provided a list of the hostages who would be released.

Hamas cited technical reasons for the delay in submitting the list. Authorities in Gaza say 19 people were killed and 36 were wounded.

Hamas then said the names of three women had been submitted to a mediating country. The Israeli government said the list had been accepted, and the release of hostages would take place in the afternoon.

Hamas is expected to free 33 hostages under the deal. Israel is scheduled to release Palestinian prisoners and pull its forces from highly populated areas.

Trucks carrying relief supplies are on standby along a major road in Egypt, about 80 kilometers from the Rafah Crossing. A driver said the trucks were mainly loaded with food.

Under the agreement, as many as 600 trucks of food will be delivered per day to improve the humanitarian situation.

Meanwhile, Celebrations have erupted across the Gaza Strip after a much-awaited ceasefire came into effect following 15 months of war that turned much of the coastal Palestinian enclave to rubble.

All eyes are on whether both sides will abide by the agreement and implement the ceasefire to end the conflict that has continued for more than 15 months.