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,

The crowds in Tel Aviv's "Hostage Square" cheered and whooped with joy late Sunday at the news that the first three hostages freed under the Gaza ceasefire deal had returned to Israel.There was elation among those who had waited for hours in the plaza in the centre of Israel's commercial hub opposite Israeli military headquarters.

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.

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