Eight Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity in the Gaza strip on Thursday as part of a temporary cease-fire deal that has lasted for seven days, the Israeli military said. Israel freed 30 Palestinian prisoners in the early hours of Friday under the truce deal, which has paused the deadliest fighting in decades between Israel and Palestinians.

International pressure has mounted for the truce to be upheld as long as possible after weeks of Israeli bombardment and ground campaign following Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war. Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel, and more than three-quarters of the population of 2.3 million have been uprooted, leading to a humanitarian crisis.