Israeli female soldier hostages wave and react at a Palestinian crowd before being handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar) Relatives and friends of Israeli people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza,

TEL AVIV — Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross at Gaza City on Saturday after parading them in front of a crowd. Israel followed with the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

A loud cheer swept through the crowd gathered at a Tel Aviv plaza known as Hostage Square, where giant screens livestreamed the long-awaited release of four Israeli hostages on Saturday, the latest to be freed under a Gaza ceasefire deal.

Palestinians trying to return to northern Gaza were stranded on two highways in a standoff that threatened to undo the shaky peace between Israel and Hamas.

Israel says troops fired on masked gunmen in Gaza, but it remains committed to the ceasefire as it continues a new offensive in the West Bank.

Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City after parading them in front of a crowd. Israel was set to release 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees later in the day as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Details by FRANCE 24 correspondent in Jerusalem, Noga Tarnopolsky.

Hamas released four Israeli female soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City, parading them publicly before their transfer, as part of a ceasefire agreement.

As they were released, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square where they were watching the drama unfold on a big screen television.

Some troops had been expected to withdraw to allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans to go home. But Israel said the hostage exchange before that step had not gone as agreed. Hamas accused Israel of stalling.

Israel has prevented thousands of Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of changing the order of hostages it has released.

Israel’s military says it won’t complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday as outlined in its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah militants.