After 15 months of a grueling war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, Israel and Hamas agreed to phase one of a ceasefire deal on Wednesday. The agreement will create a pause in fighting that will allow critical aid to reach Gaza, and begin an exchange of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Three hostages were handed over to Israeli forces — the first of 33 expected to be freed over the next six weeks in exchange for some 1,900 Palestinians. The deal follows months of negotiations.

The truce allowed Palestinians to return to bombed-out neighborhoods to begin rebuilding their lives, while relief trucks delivered much-needed aid