Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, marking the first day of a ceasefire that has paused a 15-month-old Israeli war devastating Gaza and escalating tensions in the Middle East. As the Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah on the West Bank, fireworks celebrated their return, and thousands gathered to welcome them. Among those released from Israeli custody were 69 women and 21 teenage boys from the West Bank and Jerusalem. The truce stipulates a halt to fighting, the delivery of aid into Gaza, and the release of 33 of the nearly 100 remaining Israeli and foreign hostages during the initial six-week phase, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.