Hundreds of Israelis gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, some cheering and some in tears, as a giant television screen broadcast the first glimpse of the first three hostages to be released under the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Israeli media, carrying live footage from Qatar-based Al Jazeera, is showing the first images of the first three hostages<a class="excerpt-read-more" href=" More

The first three hostages were released from Gaza, and the first Palestinian prisoners were freed from Israeli custody, as a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold following 15 months of war,

The three women were in stable condition, Sheba Medical Center said, and authorities released footage of them reuniting with their families, hugging fiercely and sobbing.

Officials say Israel and Hamas appear to be inching closer to a phased ceasefire agreement. But a deal hasn’t been reached yet.

A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday following an almost three-hour delay after Hamas was late to name the three hostage it plans to release.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas initiated in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, ushering in an initial six-week period of calm and raising hopes for the release of dozens of militant-held hostages and an end to the devastating 15-month war.

Israeli military officials have recommended establishing a permanent security buffer zone in parts of Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli media said on Sunday. Senior officials proposed creating the zone on the elevated areas of Beit Hanoun, which overlooks the illegal Israeli settlement of Sderot, Israel’s Army Radio reported.

People look at the Gaza Strip from an observation point in Sderot, southern Israel (Ariel Schalit/AP) Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired a missile at central Israel, setting off sirens and sending people fleeing to shelters without ...

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over to Israeli forces there in the first test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The three hostages are Romi Gonen, 24, kidnapped from the Nova music festival, and Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

Across the Gaza Strip, celebrations erupted as people hoped ... Asher Pizem, 35, from the city of Sderot near Gaza, said he eagerly awaited the hostages' return but said the deal had merely ...