Months of tedious talks over a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza – negotiations that required officials from an outgoing and incoming presidential administration to put aside their fundamental differences – culminated in an intense late-night push for an agreement that finally came to fruition on Wednesday.

A Gaza ceasefire deal endorsed by Israel and Hamas was delayed from going into effect Sunday after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the militant group had yet to provide the names of the hostages it planned to release under the truce agreement.

As the ceasefire halted fighting in Gaza, Palestinians burst into the streets to celebrate and return to the rubble of their bombed-out homes.