Hope and fear at Paris rally for Gaza hostages as truce takes effect

People hold portraits of hostages during a rally on Saturday in support of hostages held in the Gaza Strip since Hamas' 7 October attacks on Israel.

People gathered in Paris Saturday evening in support of the hostages held in Gaza, hours before a truce to allow their release was due to take effect. The ceasefire, intended to pave the way to an end of the Israel-Hamas war, was delayed by nearly three hours after Israel said Hamas had failed to hand over the list of Israeli hostages to be released.

Israel on Sunday said a truce with Hamas began in Gaza at 09:15 GMT, nearly three hours after initially scheduled, following a last-minute delay as Israel waited for Hamas to publish the list of hostages to be freed.

During the delay, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed eight people.

Hamas attributed the delay to "technical reasons", as well as the "complexities of the field situation and the continued bombing", ultimately publishing at around 10:30 am the names of three Israeli women to be released on Sunday.

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Israel confirmed that the truce would begin at 11:15 am local time.

The ceasefire paves the way for 33 hostages taken by militants during the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel to be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day period. One thousand Palestinian prisoners are also to be released, though anyone involved in the 7 October attack is excluded.

Hope and fear

On Saturday evening, hostage supporters gathered in Paris opposite the Eiffel Tower, awaiting the ceasefire.

"It's a mix of hope and fear," said Jean-David Ichay, president of the "Tous 7 Octobre" association.

(with AFP)


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