Cheers erupted in Tel Aviv and the occupied West Bank on Saturday as Hamas released four Israeli hostages and Israel freed 200 Palestinian prisoners in a high-profile exchange.
While Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas completed their second hostage-prisoner swap under a cease-fire deal aimed at paving the way for a permanent end to their war, a last-minute dispute blocked the expected return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to the Gaza Strip's devastated north.
The four hostages released, all women soldiers, reached a hospital on the outskirts of Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv after more than 15 months of captivity in Gaza.
Israel's prison service confirmed that 200 Palestinian prisoners were freed in exchange, with some of them subsequently deported.
The Israeli captives, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, all aged 20, and Liri Albag, 19, waved, smiled, and gave thumbs up as they were paraded on a stage in Gaza City, flanked by masked Hamas members.
After their handover to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the military said the women were brought to Israel and "reunited with their parents."
In Tel Aviv, where a crowd gathered to watch their release on a large TV screen at a plaza, there were tears of joy, applause and a loud cheer as Israeli flags waved.
In Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, crowds of Palestinians erupted in joy as dozens of freed prisoners arrived on buses from jail.
One of them, Azzam al-Shallalta, dropped to his knees and wept at his mother's feet after the teary-eyed crowd carried him on their shoulders, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist reported.
"My situation was heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking. We pray to God to free all our brothers we've left behind," said Shallalta, still wearing his grey prison tracksuit.
The freed Israeli hostages were taken by military helicopter to the Rabin Medical Center, whose Deputy Director Lena Feldman Koren said the four were in a "stable" condition even though "the prolonged captivity in harsh conditions is evident."
Footage released by the military showed the families overcome with joy at being back together.
Albag and her parents were seen screaming with happiness and laughing while her father lifted her off the ground in a bear hug.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Albag's parents after her release, telling them that "this is a very happy moment that we have been waiting for a long time," according to a statement from his office.
Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry welcomed with "great relief" the release of Gilboa, who is a dual national.
The United States, which had helped secure the truce deal, said it "will continue with its great partner Israel to push for the release of all remaining hostages."
Later on Saturday, Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv to call on their government to ensure all hostages, including those not due for release during the first phase of the truce, return home.
"We will do everything, we will fight until the end," said Ifat Kalderon, whose cousin Ofer Kalderon is held in Gaza.
State-linked Egyptian media said 70 freed Palestinian prisoners "deported" by Israel had arrived in Egypt by bus. They were to travel on into exile in third countries.
Those expelled have been serving sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis, according to a list made public by Israeli authorities.
In the south Gaza city of Rafah, a crowd gathered to welcome 14 prisoners released by Israel and sent to the territory.
Majda Balousha said she had hoped her husband would return to a "prosperous and not destroyed" Gaza.
"But praise be to God who liberated him," she said.
The hostage-prisoner exchange is part of a fragile cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect last Sunday.
Hundreds of truckloads of aid have entered Gaza daily since then, but the U.N. says "the humanitarian situation remains dire."
And Israel's U.N. ambassador has said that the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, Gaza's main aid agency, must end all operations in Israel by Thursday in line with legislation passed by parliament.
Israel announced on Saturday that it would block the return of Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza until civilian woman hostage Arbel Yehud is released.
Netanyahu's office said she "was supposed to be released today," but a Hamas source told AFP Yehud will be "released as part of the third swap set for next Saturday."
Palestinian police prevented hundreds of displaced people from reaching the Israeli-controlled passage to the north, where Israeli tanks and armored vehicles were blocking the road.
Rafiqa Subh, waiting to return to Beit Lahia, said: "We want to go back, even though our houses are destroyed. We miss our homes so much."
The cease-fire agreement should be implemented in three phases. The last two have not yet been finalized.
The deal's second phase is to see negotiations for a lasting end to the war, but analysts have warned it risks collapsing because of the deal's multi-phase nature and deep distrust between Israel and Hamas.
During the first, six-week phase, 33 hostages should be freed in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Palestinian resistance groups released three hostages on the first day of the truce in exchange for 90 Palestinians.
During Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 incursion that triggered the war, they took 251 hostages, 87 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. The attack also caused 1,210 deaths, according to Israeli official figures.
Israel's genocidal war, in response, killed at least 47,283 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.
