An Israeli hostage held for more than a year by Hamas in Gaza was released Thursday morning, marking the first of eight hostages held by the Iran-proxy militia expected to be released throughout t

An Israeli official says that Hamas will release three Israelis, including two women and an 80-year-old man, and five Thai nationals in the next hostage release, slated for Thursday.

The second hostage to be released this weekend, Israeli-American Keith Siegel, who was taken hostage with his wife Aviva, was seen in a video released by Hamas last year. His wife was released in the first hostage-for-prisoner exchange in November 2023.

The expected release will keep up the momentum of the fragile ceasefire​ between Israel and the militant Hamas group that paused the 15-monthlong war in Gaza.

Palestinians chanted praise of Hamas on Saturday as they welcomed prisoners freed under a ceasefire deal between the militant group and Israel.

Israel lifted its closure of the north for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed 15 months ago that Israel would achieve “total victory” in the war in Gaza — by eradicating Hamas and freeing all the hostages

The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel sparked the fighting.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has been walking a tightrope since voting against the hostage deal in the fateful government meeting on Friday night, January 17. He negotiated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to receive guarantees that the deal would not prevent Israel from completing its other war goals – destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and ensuring that Gaza would no longer pose a security threat to Israel.

The cease-fire is also a beacon of hope for Palestinians who have suffered immensely during Israel’s 15-month campaign to eradicate Hamas. The Palestinian civilian death toll is estimated to be in the tens of thousands, with more than 80 percent of the population internally displaced.

Crowds of displaced Palestinians made the arduous journey back to heavily destroyed northern Gaza for a second day Tuesday, under a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.