Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, 22, was released by Hamas along with two other prisoners in a highly emotional public ceremony in Gaza. Shem Tov, who had been held since the October 7 attack, kissed a Hamas captive on the head during the exchange. The release was part of a broader hostage-prisoner swap and ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, involving the handover of six Israeli hostages and over 600 Palestinian prisoners. Shem Tov and the others, Eliya Cohen, 27, and Omer Wenkert, 23, were seen smiling and waving as they were freed. Thousands in Israel watched the ceremony live, with cheers erupting in Tel Aviv. The release of the sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, was conducted without a public ceremony. The swap is part of a two-phase deal, with the second phase expected to be more challenging. Tensions remain over discrepancies in the identification of remains, with Hamas and Israel blaming each other for the mix-up.