Updated 1.20pm

Three Israeli men, all dual nationals who were abducted from the same kibbutz community during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and held hostage by Gaza militants since, were released on Saturday.

Sasha Trupanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Yair Horn were released under a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian group Hamas, which entered into force on January 19.

Including them, 19 Israeli hostages have so far been released under the truce deal in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli custody. Five Thai captives have been freed outside the scope of the accord.

Saturday's hostage-prisoner exchange was the sixth since the ceasefire began and halted halting more than 15 months of fighting.

Holding up signs reading "sorry and welcome back" and "complete the ceasefire", hundreds of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv's "Hostages Square" on Saturday to watch the hostages being released. 

In smaller groups, friends and relatives of the released men -- Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov, 29, and Israeli-Argentine Yair Horn, 46 -- shed tears of joy at the sight of their loved ones, who were made to address a crowd in Gaza from a stage alongside rifle-wielding militants. 

All three men were taken from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the 15-month war in Gaza.

Dekel-Chen's wife, Avital, who gave birth to the couple's third daughter two months after her husband was seized, was waiting for him at an army base in southern Israel.

"My breath has returned. He looks so handsome," she said following his release in a call to her sister aired by Israel's Kan public broadcaster.

Other relatives of Dekel-Chen -- who watched the release from the town of Carmei Gat, where some residents of Nir Oz are now living -- said they were relieved to see him alive.

"I am excited, and I see that he looks OK, and I want to hug him," his mother-in-law told Kan, wiping away tears.

Dekel-Chen's sister-in-law said: "Thank God that everything is OK and they were on their feet."

'A new path'

In Kfar Saba near Tel Aviv, a friend of the Horn family, Ronnie Milo, told the Israeli broadcaster that she could not find the words to describe the feeling of seeing Yair on the screen.

She said she had come to know the family well in the months after October 7, especially Horn's mother. 

"But suddenly to see him stepping out of the photo and standing on his feet, it is overwhelming," Milo said. 

A friend of one of the hostages breaks down as she watches the release on TV. Photo: AFP

"We need to see all the other hostages released, including Yair's brother, who is still there," she added. 

In Ramat Gan, also near Tel Aviv, Trupanov's friends and family clapped, cheered and cried as they watched the 29-year-old, who had been held by Hamas's ally Islamic Jihad, step out of a car in Gaza.

In a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group, Trupanov's family said they were grateful to see him return. 

"Finally, Sasha can be surrounded by his loved ones and begin a new path," said the statement, adding that they did not know if Trupanov was "aware that his father, Vitaly, was murdered on October 7". 

"This knowledge –- or lack thereof -– will completely transform his homecoming from a day of great joy to one of deep mourning for his beloved father," they said.

Sasha Trupanov

Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov, 29, was kidnapped with his girlfriend Sapir Cohen from Nir Oz kibbutz in southern Israel, where the couple was visiting family.

He was held by Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas in the Gaza Strip and has published video clips of him in captivity.

Cohen, along with Trupanov's mother and grandmother, were taken hostage too but released in November 2023, during the war's first truce.

His father Vitali Trupanov died in the October 7 attack.

The Trupanov family immigrated to Israel from Russia in the late 1990s.

In a statement Saturday from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group, the family said that "finally, Sasha can be surrounded by his loved ones and begin a new path."

Sagui Dekel-Chen

Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, was taken from Nir Oz as he tried to protect his family during the attack.

He is married and has three daughters. The youngest one was born during his time in captivity.

Dekel-Chen is reputed to be a keen amateur musician.

His wife, Avital, said following his release, in a call to her sister aired by Israel's Kan public broadcaster: "My breath has returned. He looks so handsome."

Yair Horn

Israeli-Argentine Yair Horn, 46, was seized from his home in Nir Oz kibbutz with his 38-year-old brother Eitan Horn who was visiting him.

With Eitan not due for release, their father Itzik Horn has told AFP of an "impossible situation. One son might be released, and the other one isn't".

Yair Horn was included on the list of hostages up for release during the truce's first phase as he is diabetic.

He worked in construction and was very involved in community life, organising parties and activities on his kibbutz. He was also in charge of the local pub, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

A family friend, Ronnie Milo, told Israeli media that seeing the release was "overwhelming".

"We need to see all the other hostages released, including Yair's brother, who is still there," she added.