Four freed Israeli women hostages were home in Israel Saturday, ending more than 15 months of captivity after Hamas militants handed them over to the Red Cross under a truce deal in the Gaza war.
The deal is also expected to see a second group of Palestinian prisoners freed.
An AFP journalist witnessed the handover after the four were presented on a stage at a main square in Gaza City, where dozens of masked, armed militants had gathered earlier.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and Liri Albag, 19, are all soldiers. Dressed in military fatigues, they smiled and waved on a stage in Gaza City adorned with the message, in Hebrew, 鈥榋ionism will not prevail鈥�.
In Tel Aviv, where a crowd gathered to watch the release on a large TV screen at a plaza known as Hostage Square, there were tears of joy and applause as Israeli flags waved.
After their handover to the Red Cross, Israel鈥檚 military said the women were then transferred back into Israel.
Fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, carrying assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, gathered in rows, many carrying their groups鈥� banners and wearing green headbands, as crowds of Gaza residents gathered to watch the handover in Gaza City.
On Saturday, Palestinian sources said Israel is to free 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages.
Palestinians displaced by the war to southern Gaza should be able to begin returning to the north following Saturday鈥檚 releases, Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas鈥檚 political bureau based in Qatar, told AFP on Friday.
The truce has also led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza, but Israel鈥檚 UN ambassador on Friday confirmed that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Gaza鈥檚 main aid agency, must end all operations in Israel by Thursday.
The hostage-prisoner exchange is part of a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect last Sunday, and which is intended to pave the way to a permanent end to the war.
Mediators Qatar and the United States announced the agreement days ahead of US President Donald Trump鈥檚 inauguration. Trump has since claimed credit for securing the deal after months of fruitless negotiations.
Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas鈥檚 armed wing, said on Telegram Friday that 鈥榓s part of the prisoners鈥� exchange deal, the Qassam brigades decided to release tomorrow four women soldiers鈥�.