Red Cross convoys carried liberated hostages out of Gaza. Buses transported freed Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank. Israelis and Palestinians breathed a belated, if tentative, sigh of relief.
The cease-fire, which brought the prisoner and hostage exchange, ignited hopes that the war might 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.
A Red Cross convoy transporting hostages under the watch of armed Palestinian militants south of Deir al Balah in the Gaza Strip. The terms of the deal between Israel and Hamas mandated the release of the living hostages within days. The remains of other hostages are to be sent home in stages.
Ziv Berman, one of the hostages released from Gaza, in a helicopter on his way to a hospital in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Released Palestinian prisoners arriving in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where crowds had gathered to greet them.
Palestinian families welcoming their released relatives.
President Trump addressed the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, after the hostage-prisoner swap.
One of the released hostages, Alon Ohel, with his family after landing at an Israeli hospital.
Hamas militants patrolling the area where the second group of Israeli hostages was handed over to the Red Cross.
Alon Ohel’s friends celebrating in Tel Aviv after hearing the news that he had been handed over to the Israeli military along with six other hostages.
Cheering and waving flags as some of the hostages from Gaza arrived at a hospital in Israel.
Pictures in Tel Aviv showing living and dead hostages.
Released Palestinian prisoners embraced their relatives.
Waiting in Ramallah for the release of prisoners from Israeli jails.
The mother of Muhammad Khalil Emran, who was given 14 life sentences, wept after her son was not released in Ramallah.
A billboard in Tel Aviv.