After 15 months of collective grief and anxiety, three Israeli hostages left Hamas captivity and returned to Israel, and dozens of Palestinian prisoners walked free from Israeli jail, leaving both Israelis and Palestinians torn between celebration and trepidation as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold Sunday.

The skies above Gaza and Israel were silent for the first time in over a year, and Palestinians began returning to what was left of the homes they fled across the war-ravaged enclave, started to check on relatives left behind and, in many cases, to bury their dead. After months of tight Israeli restrictions, more than 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid rolled into the devastated territory.

The ceasefire that went into effect Sunday morning stirred modest hopes for ending the Israel-Hamas war.

But in Israel, the joy of seeing freed hostages Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher reunited with their families was tempered by major questions over the fate of the nearly 100 others abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, still in captivity in Gaza.

Damari, Gonen and Steinbrecher were the first among 33 Israeli hostages who are meant to be released in the coming six weeks in a deal that includes a pause in fighting, the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and increased fuel and aid deliveries for Gaza.

What happens after the deal's first phase of 42 days is uncertain. The agreement's subsequent stages call for more releases of hostages and prisoners and a permanent end to the war.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was pressured by the outgoing Biden administration and incoming Trump administration to secure a deal before the president-elect's inauguration Monday in Washington, has said he received assurances from Trump that Israel could continue fighting Hamas if necessary.

On Sunday, many Israelis stayed glued to TV screens all afternoon to glimpse the women being released through the windows of the Red Cross ambulance. Footage showed them thronged by thousands of jostling Palestinians, including Hamas gunmen wearing green headbands, as militants handed them over to the Red Cross on a packed street in Gaza City.

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“An entire nation embraces you,” Netanyahu said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right lawmaker who resigned on Sunday from Netanyahu's governing coalition over the ceasefire, said the nation was “happy and excited” for their release.

In videos released by the Israeli government, the women were seen weeping and hugging their family members. Damari raised her bandaged hand in triumph.

The military said she lost two fingers in the Hamas-led militant attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in the abduction of some 250 others.

Applause erupted among the thousands who gathered to watch the poignant scenes on large screens at Hostages Square, the Tel Aviv plaza where families and supporters of hostages have been protesting weekly to demand a ceasefire deal.

It took another seven hours for such scenes to unfold in the occupied West Bank, where the mood was initially subdued as the Israeli military warned that public celebrations for the released prisoners would be punished.

But scuffles with Israeli security forces and hours of waiting did little to deter the crowds that flooded the streets around 1 a.m., as large white buses carrying 90 Palestinian detainees — all women or teens — exited the gates of Ofer prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Drivers revved their engines in celebration. Fireworks erupted. Several men climbed on top of the bus and hoisted three Hamas flags. “God is greater!” the crowds shouted.

Many of those released expressed elation tinged with grief for the devastation wrought by the war in Gaza.

A “double feeling” is how the most prominent detainee freed, Khalida Jarrar, 62, described it. Jarrar is a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular leftist faction that was involved in attacks against Israel in the 1970s but later scaled back militant activities. Since her arrest in late 2023, she was held under indefinitely renewable administrative detention — a widely criticized practice that Israel uses against Palestinians.

“There’s this double feeling we’re living in, on the one hand, this feeling of freedom, that we thank everyone for, and on the other hand, this pain, of losing so many Palestinian martyrs,” she told The Associated Press.

All of those being released had been detained for what Israel called offenses related to its security, from throwing stones and promoting violence on social media to more serious accusations such as attempted murder.

The next release of hostages and prisoners is due Saturday. In just over two weeks, talks are to begin on the far more challenging second phase of the ceasefire agreement.

‘Joy mixed with pain’

In Gaza, there was palpable relief at the prospect of six weeks without fighting and Israeli bombardment that so far has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the fatalities but does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.

The skies above the besieged territory were free of Israeli warplanes for the first day since a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023 that freed over 100 hostages, offering Palestinians a chance to take stock of the devastation.

“This ceasefire was a joy mixed with pain,” Rami Nofal, said a displaced man from Gaza City, explaining that his son was killed by Israeli bombardment.

Masked Hamas militants appeared at some celebrations, triumphant as crowds chanted slogans in support of them. The Hamas-run police reemerged from months of hiding.

Some families set off for home on foot, their belongings loaded on donkey carts.

In the southern city of Rafah, residents returned to find massive destruction that residents described as a dystopia. Some found human remains in the rubble.

“It’s like you see in a Hollywood horror movie,” resident Mohamed Abu Taha said as he inspected the ruins of his family’s home.

Israelis divided over deal

In Israel, the scenes of Hamas gunmen celebrating openly in the streets of Gaza underscored divisions over the agreement.

Asher Pizem, 35, from the city of Sderot, said the deal had merely postponed the next confrontation with Hamas. He also criticized Israel for allowing aid into Gaza, saying it would contribute to the militant group’s revival.

“They will take the time and attack again,” he said, looking out over Gaza’s smoldering ruins from a small hill in southern Israel with other Israelis gathered there.

An immense toll

The toll of the war has been immense, and new details will now emerge.

Already, Israeli forces were pulling back from some areas of Gaza, in line with the ceasefire agreement. Residents of Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya in northern Gaza said they didn’t see Israeli troops anymore. One resident said they saw bodies in the streets that appeared to have been there for weeks.

Some 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced. Rebuilding — if the ceasefire leads to the war's end — will take several years at least. Major questions about Gaza’s future are unresolved.

There should be a surge of humanitarian aid, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza daily, far more than Israel allowed before.

“This is a moment of tremendous hope,” humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said. “Fragile, yet vital.”

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As long-awaited ceasefire has finally begun in Gaza. Here’s what we know...

Three hostages were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza and returned to Israel on Sunday, as a highly anticipated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect.

The agreement delivers the first reprieve for the people of Gaza in more than a year and only the second since the Israeli bombardment began. The military offensive launched by Israel in response to Hamas’ October 7 attacks has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians and injured 110,750 more, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The deal will see the release of dozens of Israeli hostages in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and will allow for a significant uptick in aid to enter the enclave, where residents have long faced dire humanitarian conditions.

Here’s what we know.

What’s happening on Sunday?

The ceasefire was due to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time in Gaza (1:30 a.m. ET) on Sunday, but was delayed for nearly three hours after Israel said Hamas had not delivered the names of the first three hostages to be released. Hamas blamed a “technical” hold up. The truce eventually began at 11:15 a.m. (4:15 a.m. ET).

Israel’s military continued to pound northern and central Gaza during the delay. At least 19 Palestinians were killed and 36 others were wounded in strikes Sunday morning, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense. Israel’s military said it had struck “terror targets.”

Later Sunday, three female Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity. Romi Gonen, 24; Doron Steinbrecher, 31; and Emily Damari, a 28-year-old British-Israeli citizen, are now back in Israel.

The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) told the Israeli government that all three are in good health, an Israeli official told CNN.

The freed hostages’ mothers have traveled to Re’im in southern Israel to welcome their daughters home, Israel’s military said. The three women will later be treated at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

Large crowds gathered at the Al-Saraya Junction in Gaza City to watch as the three women were handed by Hamas to the Red Cross. Dozens of masked militants from Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades were present.

Meanwhile, Israelis had gathered in the so-called Hostages Square in Tel Aviv – the site of countless demonstrations over the past 15 months that have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to secure the hostages’ release.

“Romi is coming back! Emily is coming back! Doron is coming back!” people chanted in the square.

In exchange, Israel will free 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday. Among them are 69 women and nine minors, the youngest of whom is 15.

The respite from violence means that many Palestinians displaced in Gaza during Israel’s war are returning home. One Gazan told CNN the moment was “bittersweet.” Many houses have been reduced to rubble.

The Israeli military has already withdrawn from several locations in southern and northern Gaza, an Israeli military official told CNN.

How will phase one of the deal work?

The first phase will last for six weeks and will see the staggered release of 33 Israeli hostages.

Hamas and its allies still hold 91 people taken from Israel on October 7, 2023. At least 34 of them are dead, according to the Israeli government, but the true number is expected to be higher. Hamas holds an additional three hostages who have been captive since 2014.

Israel’s government press office on Sunday confirmed the names of the 33 captives due for release, 31 of whom were kidnapped on October 7. The two others have been held since 2014 and 2015. Among those due for release are the two youngest hostages held by Hamas – Kfir and Ariel Bibas who, if alive, would be two- and five years old, respectively.

In return, Israel is expected to release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli government has approved the release of 737 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as well as 1,167 Gaza residents it is holding who were not involved in the October 7 attacks.

The Gaza-based Prisoners Media Office, however, said that Israel will release 1,737 prisoners, including 120 women and children. Nearly 300 Palestinians serving life sentences will also be among those released, according to their office.

It is unclear why the two sides issued different figures. CNN has asked both to clarify.

During the first 42-day phase, Israel is due to withdraw from population centers but will retain a presence along Gaza’s borders and on a road dividing the territory.

What does it mean for aid?

The agreement allows for a dramatic uptick in humanitarian relief to enter Gaza.

The number of aid trucks entering the enclave will increase to 600 per day, a significant improvement from the 614 truckloads of aid that entered Gaza in the first two weeks of January, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

After waiting for days at the border, trucks surged into the enclave on Sunday. As the ceasefire came into effect, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said that it had 4,000 aid trucks ready to go.

The World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed Sunday that its first aid trucks had started to cross into Gaza. It said that the trucks entered via the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.

The UN has warned the increased aid allotment would be “only a start” in addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

Israeli strikes have laid waste to large swathes of Gaza and human rights groups have described “unspeakable” living conditions.

Israel’s military campaign has pulverized neighborhoods, damaged health infrastructure and depleted food, water and fuel supplies. In December, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of “acts of genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza by deliberately depriving them of adequate water supplies.

How does the rest of the deal work?

Negotiations to reach the second and third phases of a ceasefire agreement – which is intended to end the war – would begin on the 16th day of the implementation of the deal, according to an Israeli official.

Israel has not committed to ending the war, but has said it will take part in negotiations to progress the ceasefire to its next phases. Mediators in Cairo, including Egypt, Qatar and the United States, will monitor the implementation of the deal.

Although the ceasefire is not guaranteed to last beyond the first phase, the Israeli official told CNN that Israel is eager to “bring all our hostages back home.”

The deal has caused a political storm in Israel. On Sunday, three far-right Israeli ministers from the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party resigned from Netanyahu’s government in opposition to the ceasefire – National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, and Minister of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Yitzhak Wasserlauf.

Another far-right minister of Netanyahu’s coalition, Bezalel Smotrich, opposes the deal but has not resigned. Smotrich, who serves as minister of finance, threatened to resign if Israel does not return to war after the first phase of the truce ends.

What happens next in the war?

With the second and third phases uncertain, there are no guarantees that Israel will not resume its bombardment of Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told CNN that Israel hadn’t achieved its goal of defeating Hamas, saying the group was “still in power in Gaza.”

He stressed that the agreed ceasefire is temporary and “it is not automatic to move from one phase to the other phase.”

In a speech on Saturday, Netanyahu said both outgoing US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have agreed to support Israel’s decision to return to war if Hamas does not abide by the deal.

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