DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — All 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza and scores of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel walked free Monday as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that decimated the Gaza Strip and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Speaking to parliament, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared he was “committed to this peace," raising hopes that the ruinous war , which triggered other conflicts in the Middle East and had left scores of captives in militant hands, might come to an end. But fundamental questions remain over when and how.

Cheering crowds greeted buses of released prisoners in the West Bank and Gaza, while families and friends of the hostages gathered in a square in Tel Aviv, Israel, cried out with joy and relief as

See Full Page