Rarely seen in the open while the war raged, masked and armed fighters spread out publicly through Gaza’s cities in a show of force on Sunday.

The first three Israeli hostages returning home under a long-awaited Gaza truce were transferred to the Red Cross overnight, a Hamas official and the Israeli military said. The hostages, all women, “were officially handed over to the Red Cross” in Gaza City ahead of their return to Israel, the senior Hamas official told AFP.

In Israel, the joy of seeing freed hostages reunited with their families was tempered by questions over the fate of the nearly 100 others abducted by Hamas.