Red Cross convoys carried liberated hostages out of Gaza. Buses transported freed Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank. Israeli and Palestinians breathed a belated, if tentative, sigh of relief.
The cease-fire agreement, which brought the prisoner and hostage exchange, ignited hopes that after two devastating years, the latest bout of death and destruction may soon come to an end.
For now, thousands of displaced Gaza residents began to return north to Gaza City, even though much of it is in ruins. Friends and families of the freed Israeli hostages hugged their loved ones, or heard and saw them in long-awaited phone and video calls. Palestinian mothers reunited with their sons after they were released from Israeli prisons.
Here is what photojournalists captured as the events unfolded.
The post Scenes of Joy and Anticipation as Hostages and Prisoners Are Exchanged appeared first on New York Times.
