After hours of delay, the Gaza ceasefire came into effect on Sunday after Hamas released the names of the first three Israeli hostages to be freed, pausing a 15-month-old war that has brought devastation and seismic political change to the Middle East. Israel said a truce with Hamas began in Gaza at 11:15 am local time (09:15 GMT and 2:45 pm IST), nearly three hours after initially scheduled, following a last-minute delay on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.