Hundreds of freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been welcomed with tears and screams of joy as they were released by Israel to be reunited with their families in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
The release involved about 250 prisoners who had been convicted of crimes including murder and deadly attacks against Israelis - and about 1,700 detainees from Gaza who had been held by Israel without charge.
As prisoners exited a Red Cross bus in Ramallah, many draped in traditional Keffiyeh scarves, they looked pale and gaunt, with some struggling to walk.
They were freed as part of an exchange in which 20 Israeli hostages, and the remains of some deceased hostages, were released by Hamas.
He is ready to embrace freedom, said Amro Abdullah, 24, who was waiting for his cousin Rashid Omar, 48, arrested in July 2005 and sentenced to life in prison by an Israeli court after being found guilty of murder and other crimes. I want peace, Mr Abdullah said. I want to live a happy life, safe and peaceful, without occupation and without restrictions.
It is thought about 100 prisoners were released into the West Bank, with many others set to be deported and a small number freed into East Jerusalem.
Israel made clear before the release process that it wanted to avoid the jubilant scenes that surrounded prisoners arriving in Ramallah during previous hostage deals. Many families were reluctant to speak to the media, saying they had been warned against doing so by the Israeli military.
In Gaza, families gathered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the hope of being reunited with their loved ones, where a field hospital was set up to receive them.
This is a very beautiful feeling - happy, a day of joy, said Muhammad Hasan Saeed Dawood, 50, who told the BBC he was there to collect his son who was arrested by Israeli forces at a checkpoint. We call it a national holiday, that our detainees are being released despite the cost of the war, the martyrs, the injured, and the destruction in Gaza.
Khalil Muhammad Abdulrahman Al-Qatrous, who was also there to collect his son who he said had been detained for about three months, expressed mixed emotions: There is joy, and there is pain, and there is happiness, and there is sorrow.
Multiple medics and family members reported that the released prisoners had faced beatings prior to their release. While the BBC cannot verify these claims, Israel's top court has previously stated that Palestinian prisoners were not receiving adequate food.
Their rights were violated in the most serious ways, said Aya Shreiteh, 26, from the Palestinian Prisoners Club. Most of the prisoners in the past year were subjected to deliberate starvation and exposure to illness.
The prisoner release is part of a larger peace initiative following the recent outbreak of violence, illustrating the complex interplay between hope and despair in the ongoing conflict. As the negotiations for the next phases of the peace plan continue, the sentiment among families remains deeply reflective of their struggles and aspirations for a peaceful future.
