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

The centre of Tel Aviv was plunged into collective ecstasy on Saturday as it witnessed the release of the four female Israeli army observers freed today by the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Gathered in a conference room at an undisclosed location alongside military personnel, the families were exuberant as they witnessed the end of 471 days of captivity for their relatives.