Seven hostages handed to Red Cross by Hamas as exchange continues - latest - Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud is among eight hostages handed over to Red Cross

( JTA) — TEL AVIV — “They are in our hands,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on the huge screen that was broadcasting the tense release of the three hostages returned to Israel, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher.

Watch again as crowds gathered in Tel Aviv as the Israel and Hamas ceasefire saw the first hostages released on Sunday (19 January) after 470 days. The first three hostage were handed over to the Red Cross,

There is a “palpable” sense of relief among Israelis Sunday afternoon as images of Hamas handing over the three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross are broadcasted, FRANCE 24’s Noga Tarnopolsky said, reporting from Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square where many Israelis have gathered to follow the latest news of the planned hostage-prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas.

The organization representing families of hostages held in the Gaza strip is celebrating the news that three male hostages would be released Saturday as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas militants kidnapped 31 Thai nationals during the assault on southern Israel, making them the largest group of foreigners held captive.

Hamas released eight hostages on Thursday — five Thai farm workers and three dual German-Israeli nationals — in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. This is the third round of exchanges in the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas,

The release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners as laid out in the Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal had been in doubt after crowds in southern Gaza surrounded hostages who were being freed.

Hamas-led militants freed eight more hostages from the Gaza Strip and another 110 Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel as part of a ceasefire that began earlier this month. The

Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud has been handed over to the Red Cross, Israel's channel 12 said, as footage showed her surrounded by a surging crowd and armed Palestinian militants in a chaotic scene in southern Gaza on Thursday.

The returning hostage, IDF soldier Agam Berger, has crossed into Israeli territory and "is currently on her way to an initial reception point in southern Israel," the report reads