Freed were three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another taken while visiting family in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the 16-month war in Gaza. The two others were held for a decade after entering Gaza on their own.

The Israeli military says the sixth and final hostage was released by Hamas in the latest exchange on Saturday and has arrived back in Israel even as heightened tensions clouded the future of the fragile ceasefire deal.

Israeli officials said the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners due Saturday has been delayed, after six hostages were freed from Gaza under a fragile truce that is nearing the end of its first phase.