After a tense afternoon, thousands cheer and hug as Jerusalem confirms Doron Steinbrecher, Emily Damari and Romi Gonen are in Israeli hands

Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square and New York City’s Central Park to celebrate the release of the first three hostages by Hamas on Sunday. Families of the captives and their supporters crowded the centers to watch and cheer as Emily Damari,

Gathered in a conference room at an undisclosed location alongside military personnel, the families were exuberant as they witnessed the end of 471 days of captivity for their relatives.

Joyful celebrations have broken out in Tel Aviv as the first three Israeli hostages were released under the Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas. Friends and relatives of the three women clapped and cheered in Hostages Square in central Tel Aviv when their release was confirmed,

Thousands of Israelis gathered on Saturday night across the country, on the eve of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, to demand from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he not resume the war until the last of the 98 kidnapped individuals who remain captive is back home.

The first three Hamas hostages, who have been in captivity for 15 months, have been handed over to the Red Cross in a historic moment on the first day of the cease-fire between Israel and the terror group.