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,

Palestinians watched the handover from Hamas to ICRC of four Israeli hostages on Saturday in Gaza City throwing confetti to Hamas militants in celebration, with music playing in the background. Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag were released as in part of a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the 15-month-old war in Gaza.

The four were led onto a podium in Gaza City amid a large crowd of Palestinians. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The Red Cross on Thursday called for "improvements" in the security of the handovers to Israel of captives held by Hamas in Gaza after chaotic scenes earlier in the day.

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.

The four soldiers – Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag – were all stationed at an observation post on the edge of Gaza and abducted by Hamas fighters who overran their base during the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

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,

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.

Israel delayed the release of 110 Palestinian prisoners for several hours after broadcast images showed crowds jostling and cheering in Gaza as Israeli and Thai hostages were handed over to the Red Cross earlier that day.

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