Militants led Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud through a chaotic crowd in Gaza ahead of her release, hours after Hamas handed a captive Israeli soldier over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip.

Follow NBC News live updates for the latest coverage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

Steven Witkoff, who played an important role in brokering the truce between Israel and Hamas, also met with Israel’s prime minister and visited Saudi Arabia.

The return of fighters to Gaza streets highlights how Israeli bombardment has failed to achieve Netanyahu’s goal or eradicating Hamas as a political force.

“Gaza, with its great people and its resilience, will rise again to rebuild what the occupation has destroyed and continue on the path of steadfastness until the occupation is defeated,” Hamas said in a statement after the cease-fire.

Life expectancy in the Gaza Strip was nearly cut in half in the first year of the war between Israel and Hamas, a new study has estimated.

Israel has begun allowing Palestinians to return to the heavily destroyed north of the Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas.

Hamas-led militants freed eight hostages on Thursday in the latest release since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold earlier this month. Israel was expected to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas freed eight hostages on Thursday as part of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but the chaotic handover of some of the captives, who were shuttled through a rowdy crowd of thousands by masked militants, drew an angry protest from Israel.

Hamas confirmed the death of Mohammed Deif, head of its military wing, six months after Israel announced he was killed. It was the first statement Hamas has released on Deif’s condition since the Israeli military announced last August that he was killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza the month before.

Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday after eight hostages in the Gaza Strip were freed by Hamas-led militants earlier in the day in a sometimes chaotic process that briefly called the exchange into question and underscored the fragility of a ceasefire that began this month.