Recently freed hostages may face a variety of health risks, from nutritional deficiency to lack of exercise, after spending 47 days in captivity in Gaza, according to professor Hagai Levine, head of the medical team for Israel’s Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.

“We know, for example, for diets, that they did not get a proper diet,” Levine told journalists at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, where five of the recently released elderly hostages will receive evaluations and treatment.

“No exposure to sunlight, which again, for seven weeks, it’s, you know, there is a lack of vitamin D and, of course, mentally, how it affects you.”

One of his biggest concerns is that hostages did not receive their prescribed medications. Levine acknowledged reports that some hostages did get medical treatment while in captivity, saying the level of care was something doctors will “have to evaluate now.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it facilitated the release of 33 Palestinian detainees today.

The prisoners exited an Israeli prison and were transferred to Ramallah, in the West Bank.

"We have managed to do so thanks to our neutral intermediary role," the ICRC said in a post on X.

In all, 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails on the first day of the Israel-Hamas truce.

Demonstrators gathered outside malls in major cities across the country today, including several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters who marched through New York City's Herald Square while chanting, "While you shop, bombs drop" and "Occupation, not a war."

In Atlanta, protesters stood outside Lenox Square and some entered the roadway, according to police. Eight people were arrested for refusing officers' commands to disperse from the street, police said.

Other demonstrations were held at Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the Holyoke Mall in Holyoke, Massachusetts; the Crossgates Mall in Albany, New York; Tysons Corner Center in Tysons, Virginia; Asheville Mall in Asheville, North Carolina; Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, California; and Tampa Premium Outlets in Florida.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari celebrated the release of hostages, saying it brings a "great sense of relief."

The released hostages underwent an initial medical evaluation and have arrived at Hatzerim Base, where they will contact their family members and complete further medical examinations. They will then be transported via military helicopters to designated hospitals, where they will have the chance to meet their families, Hagari said.

If a released prisoner is not Israeli, a representative from their country will meet them at the Hatzerim base, he explained.

A released Palestinian prisoner said conditions in the prison were "very hard" and described the situation as "catastrophic."

"The situation inside (prison) is very hard, I can’t really express how hard it is," Laith Othman told reporters. "We were not allowed out of our cells, no good food, no meals, there is nothing, we were starving. There is nothing good in the prison, the situation is very catastrophic."

Othman was among those released in a hostage-prisoner swap exchange between Hamas and Israel.

"I can’t express my feelings now, thanks to God," he said.

According to the IDF, the 22 Israeli and foreign hostages released today have arrived at Hatzerim Base, an air force base in southern Israel's Negev desert.

Alongside Israeli soldiers and medics, the hostages will be flown to hospitals to be reunited with their families, the IDF said. Two of the released Israeli hostages have already been transferred to a hospital via vehicle.

"We are proud and excited to bring our sisters and brothers home," said a spokesperson for the IAF pilots that flew the hostages to Israel today. "We will continue until all the hostages are returned."

The day after Thanksgiving, Biden made a point of articulating his gratitude for the completion of the first phase of the hostages-for-prisoners swap.

"Today, let's continue to be thankful for all the families who are now, and those who will soon be, brought together," he said. He also thanked the emir of Qatar, the Egyptian president and the Israeli prime minister "for their partnership to make what we've done so far possible and for their continued leadership as we all keep working to implement this deal."

Still, Biden was clear that there is a long way to go before even the four-day pause in hostilities can be deemed a full success.

"It's only a start," he said, "but so far it's gone well."

Biden said he's not relying on Hamas' intentions to drive negotiations for the release of hostages.

"I don’t trust Hamas to do anything right," said Biden, who noted that he has had discussions with the leaders of Qatar, Egypt and Israel to put the deal in place. "I only trust Hamas to respond to pressure." 

President Biden said that the size of the next batch of hostages will be known in the next hour — adding that the U.S. doesn't know the locations and conditions of all of those being held by Hamas.

"In the next hour or so, we’ll know what the second wave of releases are and I’m hopeful," Biden said.