In highly staged ceremonies, Hamas freed three people held captive over the last 15 months. Keeping to its part of the cease-fire deal, Israel released 183 Palestinians held in jails.

It is believed that at least two of the six American hostages still held in Gaza are alive — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, who grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Edan Alexander, 19, from Tenafly, New Jersey. Four other Americans are believed to have been killed in captivity.

Hamas militants freed three men held hostage in the Gaza Strip and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners from prisons amid the cease-fire.

Follow NBC News live updates for the latest coverage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

Eight of the remaining hostages set to be released by Hamas in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead, according to an Israeli government spokesperson.

The cease-fire has held despite a dispute earlier this week over the sequence in which the hostages were released.

Hamas militants freed three male hostages held for more than a year in the Gaza Strip on Saturday and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in the fourth such exchange of a ceasefire deal that has halted 15 months of intense fighting.

Hamas said that it intends to release Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag on Saturday. All four of the women were serving as Israel Defense Forces soldiers at the time of their kidnapping.

A senior Russian diplomat urged a top official of the Palestinian movement Hamas on Monday to keep to its commitment to release a Russian hostage held by the group since its raid on Israel in October 2023.

The visuals out of Israel and Gaza during recent hostage-for-prisoner swaps were part of a choreographed battle of optics waged in parallel to the 16-month ground war between Israel and Hamas. Each side uses the light and shadow of images to make themselves look virtuous and strong — and each other monstrous and weak.