Live updates: Gaza ceasefire begins Sunday after Israel approves deal in marathon cabinet meeting

The World Health Organization (WHO) director-general has hailed the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal for “giving great hope” to those held on both sides, even as he stressed they would face “complex” health problems that could last for years come.

“The ceasefire agreement gives great hope that Israeli hostages will be freed after more than 450 days in Gaza,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X Saturday.

He added that the deal also gave hope to Palestinian prisoners in Israel, saying that detainees on both sides are likely to have faced and will continue to face “complex” health challenges that could take years to overcome solve.

The agreement between the two warring sides means that in an initial six-week phase, 33 Israelis taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and held captive for over a year will finally return home.

At Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), an entire ward has been cleared out and redesigned to receive hostages. Medical complications that hostages are expected to suffer include malnutrition, photosensitivity and psychological trauma.

Eli Sprecher, executive director of the Tel Aviv Medical Center, told CNN that a special team has also been created to address issues of sexual and gender-based violence, and that staff are prepared to perform all necessary tests and screenings.

CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim, Bianna Golodryga and Mike Schwartz contributed to this report.