Thousands of displaced, war-weary Gazans set off across the devastated Palestinian territory to return to their homes on Sunday, after a long-awaited truce between Israel and Hamas went into effect following an initial delay.

After a last-minute delay that Israel said was due to Hamas lagging in handing over the names of hostages to be released, the ceasefire in Gaza has taken effect.

Qatar’s prime minister on Wednesday announced a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, pausing the devastating 15-month war in Gaza and clearing the way for dozens of Israeli hostages to go home.

The Israeli military says it ''continues to attack'' inside the Gaza Strip as a dispute with Hamas delayed the start of a planned ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, mediators announced Wednesday, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

The ceasefire agreement includes the release of hostages and a pause on the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect in less than 24 hours, said Qatar’s foreign ministry on Saturday.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 6:30 GMT on Sunday. Early Saturday morning Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would release dozens of hostages and pause the 15-month war with Hamas,

Qatar, a key negotiator in the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, confirmed Saturday that the first hostages will be released in less than 24 hours. Qatari Foreign Minister Majid al-Ansari

Egypt’s foreign minister said 600 trucks of aid, including 50 fuel trucks, should be entering Gaza daily during the ceasefire.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.