This image grab taken from handout footage released by the Israeli army shows two of the three Israeli hostages who had been abducted during the October 7, 2023 attacks by Palestinian militants, after disembarking from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicle upon behind handed over to Israeli forces at an undisclosed location on January 19, 2025 after a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal in the war between Israel and Hamas was implemented. Agence France-Presse

GAZA CITY — Chaotic scenes enveloped the three hostages from Israel who were handed over to the Red Cross Sunday by masked Hamas militants wearing green headbands in a packed Gaza City square.

A dense crowd of Palestinians had gathered to watch the moment, the first release of hostages seized on October 7, 2023, under the new ceasefire that came into effect on Sunday.

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Hamas fighters struggled to hold the crowds back from the convoy of Red Cross SUVs that had arrived at Saraya Square in the west of Gaza City to collect them.

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READ: Israeli hostages freed on first day of Gaza truce

Many of those in the crowd chanted “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is greatest” in Arabic.

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An AFP journalist on-site said fighters from the Palestinian Islamist movement initially tried to keep the public away from the ICRC cars.

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But when another convoy of white vehicles arrived in the square carrying the three women hostages to be handed over, the crowd of several thousand surged forward to surround them.

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APFTV footage showed armed and balaclava-wearing Palestinian fighters stationed around the van containing the three women, as others stood on top of it.

READ: Three Israeli hostages are with Israeli forces in Gaza

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The women, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher, were the first to be released under the ceasefire agreement agreed between Israel and Hamas.

In a video released by Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the three women were seen smiling in a car and being presented with “release certificates” and what appeared to be Hamas-branded gift bags.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff wearing red vests briefly exchanged words with Hamas militants in the group’s distinctive green headbands, while the Hamas footage showed them signing the release certificates before the women swiftly crossed to the Red Cross SUVs.

“Dozens of armed members of the Al-Qassam Brigades participated in the operation,” a Hamas official told AFP.

Around them a vast crowd pulsed, occasionally threatening to overwhelm the fighters protecting the convoy, who had to force people back.

The crowd waved Palestinian and Hamas flags while cheering and whistling. Some clung from the top of large advertising billboards to catch a glimpse of the hostage handover taking place below.

One young man perched on another’s shoulders began chanting in tribute to Yahya Sinwar, one of the architects of the October 7 events, who was killed by Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza in October.

Saraya Square, a large plaza built in the 1930s, is one of Gaza’s main gathering places and known for its proximity to Hamas government administrative buildings.

Another record session Friday on Wall Street crowned a sixth weekly gain in a row, but failed to carry over into Monday and inspire a similar rally elsewhere.

At the crucial moment, the three young women left a white van through sliding doors and headed to the Red Cross vehicles that would take them to Israeli forces in the territory.

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Long after they had gonecasinwin, crowds continued to celebrate in front of buildings damaged in the war as the first day of the ceasefire continued to hold.

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