Breath was held until the final moments before the deadline's end, when Qatari and Egyptian contacts with both Israel and Hamas successfully resolved obstacles late Saturday night.
Hamas had accused Israel of not adhering to the terms of the temporary ceasefire and failing to allow relief trucks into northern Gaza.
Thus, the second phase of the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas was completed. Israel released 39 Palestinian detainees from three prisons: Damon, Megiddo, and Ofer. All, including women and minors, returned to their homes, with most in East Jerusalem amid an Israeli police presence.
One prominent releasee was Israa Jaabis, convicted of detonating a gas canister in her car at a checkpoint in 2015, injuring a police officer, and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Jaabis, who suffered facial burns and lost fingers, is often shown in pictures held by protesters or to express the plight of Palestinian prisoners.
On the Israeli side, Hamas released 13 Israeli prisoners from Gaza and four Thai nationals, thanks to Iran's involvement with Hamas. Six women and seven children were among them, with the youngest, a 3-year-old, and the oldest in their sixties, according to Axios.
The prisoners were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross before heading to hospitals to reunite with their families. According to France 24, the Red Cross transports Israeli prisoners in its own vehicles to the Rafah border crossing, where they are handed over to Egyptian security on the Egyptian side of the crossing.
The convoy travels along the Gaza Strip towards a location near the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border between Egypt, Israel, and Gaza. From Kerem Shalom, the prisoners are transported in private helicopters into Israel.