Israel-Hamas ceasefire: First three Israeli hostages released, Gazans returned to devastated neighborhoods

Stephen Farrell, Ingrid Melander, Kylie Maclellan, Farouq Suleiman, Alexandra Hudson and Christina Anagnostopoulos / Reuters

Sunday saw the first phase of the truce in the 15-month-old war between Israel and Hamas take effect following a three-hour delay.

Armed Hamas fighters drove through the southern city of Khan Younis with crowds cheering and chanting, and Palestinians began returning to the rubble of bombed-out homes.

Three female hostages freed by Hamas were reunited with their mothers inside Israel.

In Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israelis watched a live broadcast from Gaza showing the hostage release on a giant screen. The crowd cheered, embraced and wept as three female hostages could be seen getting into a Red Cross vehicle surrounded by armed Hamas fighters.  

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, buses awaited the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention. Hamas said the first group to be freed in exchange for the hostages includes 69 women and 21 teenage boys. Read more and see videos here.