Hamas Saturday freed four Israeli female soldiers after 477 days of captivity in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Army said. The soldiers crossed into Israeli territory before reuniting with their families after their captivity ended thanks to the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel,

Israeli and Palestinian supporters in Texas welcome the tenuous halt to the war sparked by a 2023 attack with cautious optimism.

GAZA/JERUSALEM - The Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday released the second batch of Israeli hostages, four women who were received by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza City.

Chaotic scenes enveloped the three hostages from Israel who were handed over to the Red Cross Sunday by masked Hamas militants wearing green headbands in a packed Gaza City square.A dense crowd of Palestinians had gathered to watch the moment,

Hamas handed the four female Israeli soldier hostages over to the ICRC on Saturday who transported them to the Israeli military.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas handed over three Israeli captives to the Red Cross on Sunday under the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. The three captives were handed over by Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, at Saraya Square in central Gaza City, according to an Anadolu reporter.

Three female Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for 15 months have been released and brought back to Israel, after a long-awaited ceasefire deal took effect. Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari, who is also a British citizen, were due to be freed in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Four Israeli female soldiers were swapped for 200 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday in the second phase of a prisoner exchange deal under the ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian faction,

Follow NBC News live updates for the latest coverage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

Three more Israeli and five Thai hostages have been released by Palestinian militants from captivity and returned to Israel, after being held for more than 15 months in Gaza.

Legislation that goes into effect on Thursday bars UNRWA from operating in the country. That will affect aid delivery to Gaza and beyond.