Hamas released four Israeli female soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City, parading them publicly before their transfer, as part of a ceasefire agreement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israelis were withholding that part of the deal until a further captive was released.

A loud cheer swept through the crowd gathered at a Tel Aviv plaza known as Hostage Square, where giant screens livestreamed the long-awaited release of four Israeli hostages on Saturday, the latest to be freed under a Gaza ceasefire deal.

The deal hit its first major complication when Israel said a female civilian hostage named Arbel Yahoud was supposed to be released but wasn't.

Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas have returned to Israel after militants paraded them in front of a crowd of thousands in Gaza City.

TEL AVIV — Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross at Gaza City on Saturday after parading them in front of a crowd. Israel followed with the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The exchange is part of a deal between Israel and Hamas that will see a total of 33 hostages returned to Israel in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Hamas released Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Karina Ariev and Daniella Gilboa on Saturday. Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners.

TEL AVIV/CAIRO (Reuters) -Israel approved a ceasefire deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday that involves releasing hostages in the Gaza Strip, and Israeli forces carried out new attacks in the enclave before the agreement's scheduled start on Sunday.

Israel and Hamas were expected to swap more hostages for Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, the second such exchange since a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip last weekend and another test for the deal.

As they were released, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square where they were watching the drama unfold on a big screen television.

The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the militant group. The fragile deal has so far held, quieting airstrikes and rockets and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.