New Delhi, Oct. 15 -- Cheers erupted among Palestinians on Monday as Israel released nearly 2,000 prisoners under a Gaza ceasefire agreement that saw them exchanged for Israeli hostages freed by Hamas.

Large crowds greeted the freed prisoners in Beitunia in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Khan Younis in Gaza, flashing V-for-victory signs as they descended from International Committee of the Red Cross buses. In Beitunia, they were given traditional keffiyeh scarves as a show of nationalist pride. Some were lifted onto people's shoulders. Others sank into chairs, exhausted.

"It was an indescribable journey of suffering - hunger, unfair treatment, oppression, torture and curses - more than anything you could imagine," said Kamal Abu ...