Their voices monotone and their faces staring mostly ahead, three Israeli hostages spoke in Hebrew on a Gaza stage before walking to freedom on Saturday, after more than 16 months of captivity in the Palestinian territory.

The carefully choreographed handover to the Red Cross in Gaza came as part of an ongoing ceasefire deal with Israel.

Compared to three emaciated captives released last week, Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov and Israeli-Argentine Yair Horn appeared in better health as they emerged from a white car.

They clutched gift bags and a certificate to mark the end of their captivity, but the three men had to undergo a last minute ordeal of speaking on a microphone in Hebrew just before the release.

The men -- flanked by five masked fighters brandishing assault rifles -- were forced to speak in front of the crowds but in an apparent address to Israelis, urging the completion of further hostage exchanges under the ongoing ceasefire deal.

The........

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