Jerusalem/Gaza, Feb 8 (IANS): Three Israeli hostages previously held by Hamas were transferred on Saturday from central Gaza to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency and crossed the border into Israel, the IDF said in a statement.

The three Israeli hostages, kidnapped in a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, are Ohad Ben Ami, 56, a dual Israeli-German citizen; Eli Sharabi, 52; and Or Levy, 34.

Earlier in the day, three vehicles of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) arrived at the designated handover site in Deir al-Balah city.

The three hostages, appearing visibly frail and exhausted, moved onto a platform to speak first, and were then handed over by Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, to the ICRC, Xinhua news agency reported.

Reports cited that Ben Ami's wife was also kidnapped on the same day but was released after 54 days in captivity as part of a previous hostage deal.

The release marks the fifth hostage-prisoner swap under the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel brokered by Egypt and Qatar with support from the United States.

As part of the swap, Israel has also begun releasing the 183 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails on Saturday.

Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, said the released prisoners, transported by buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross, had arrived in Ramallah. TV footage showed the released Palestinians being greeted by a large crowd at a square in the city.

The Prisoners' Media Office affiliated with Hamas said on Friday that the released Palestinian prisoners include 18 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, 54 prisoners serving long sentences, and 111 prisoners from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after the October 7 attack.

Effective on January 19, the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire agreement stipulates that Hamas release 33 hostages, while Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.