The first 90 Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal were freed hours after an agreement took effect on Sunday.

This is to halt the fighting that has devastated the coastal territory; local media cited Israeli authorities as confirming.

Local media outlets, including the Times of Israel, cited the prison authority as confirming the release, saying that most of the freed prisoners were women and minors.

The majority of the detainees came from the West Bank, while others were from East Jerusalem, according to the reports.

Palestinian media has showed the footage and pictures of what they said were released prisoners arriving in Ramallah.

On Sunday, the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas released the first three Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement.

They were transferred by the Palestinian militant group Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday afternoon.

Among those transferred were three women, named by the Israeli military as Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher.

They were then transferred to Israeli forces and transported to a hospital in Tel Aviv, where they were greeted by family.

A Hamas spokesman had confirmed that four more Israeli hostages would be released next Saturday.

This will be part of the deal to exchange 33 hostages for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails over the course of six weeks.

Following months of stalemate in the 15-month Gaza war, a three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was brokered on Wednesday, capping months-long efforts by the U.S.

Others are; Egypt and Qatar to mediate between the warring parties.

The first stage of the ceasefire agreement also foresaw the Israeli military withdrawing from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk congratulated his rival Jeff Bezos on the successful maiden test-launch of his heavy-lift rocket New Glenn on Thursday.

“Congratulations on reaching orbit on the first attempt’’ Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns, tagging Bezos in his post.

Amazon founder Bezos established his rocket company Blue Origin nearly 25 years ago.

But he has seen Musk’s SpaceX come to dominate the U.S. commercial space industry and obtain lucrative government contracts.

SpaceX’s unscrewed mega rocket Star ship, developed to carry astronauts to the moon, failed during its first two launches in 2023.

But the spacecraft has now made it into Earth’s orbit on several occasions, and the next test launch is planned for later Thursday.

Our priority must be to ease the tremendous suffering caused by this conflict, says UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

He said this in a statement following the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza by Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.

Guterres commended Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. for their dedicated efforts as mediators in brokering the deal, adding that their unwavering commitment to finding a diplomatic solution was critical in achieving the breakthrough.

He said the UN stood ready to support the implementation of the deal and scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief to the countless Palestinians who continue to suffer.

According to him, the deal is a critical first step, but all efforts must be mobilised to also advance broader goals, including the preservation of the unity, contiguity, and integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“It is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security and political obstacles to delivering aid across Gaza so that we can support a major increase in urgent lifesaving humanitarian support.

“The humanitarian situation is at catastrophic levels. I call on all parties to facilitate the rapid, unhindered, and safe humanitarian relief for all civilians in need.

“From our side, we will do whatever is humanly possible, aware of the serious challenges and constraints that we will be facing. We expect our efforts to be matched by other humanitarian actors, the private sector and bilateral initiatives.”

The UN chief said Palestinian unity was essential for achieving lasting peace and stability.

On his part, ending the occupation and achieving a negotiated two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security, in line with international law, relevant UN resolutions, and previous agreements remain an urgent priority.

According to him, only through a viable two-state solution can the aspirations of both peoples be fulfilled.

Guterres paid tribute to civilians who lost their lives in the 15-month war, including UN personnel and humanitarian workers.

“The United Nations is steadfast in its commitment to supporting all efforts that promote peace, stability, and a more hopeful future for the people of Palestine and Israel, and across the region,” he said.