(Reuters) - Hamas handed over three Israeli prisoners on Saturday, and dozens of Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released in exchange, in the latest stage of a truce aimed at ending the 15-month war in Gaza.

Ofer Kalderon, a French-Israeli dual national, and Yarden Bibas were handed over to Red Cross officials in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis before being transferred to Israel. Israeli-American Keith Siegel was handed over separately at the Gaza City seaport.

Hours later, the first of 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees due to be released as part of the exchange got off a bus in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where they were greeted by large crowds waiting to receive them.

At the newly reopened Rafah crossing on the southern border, the first Palestinian patients to be allowed to leave Gaza, including children suffering from cancer and heart conditions, were expected to cross over to Egypt in a bus provided by the World Health Organization.

Saturday's handover saw none of the chaotic scenes that overshadowed an earlier transfer on Thursday, when Hamas guards struggled to shield prisoners from a surging crowd in Gaza.

But it was once again an occasion for a show of force by uniformed Hamas fighters who paraded in the area where the handovers took place in a sign of their re-established dominance in Gaza despite the heavy losses suffered in the war.

The handover brings the total number of prisoners so far handed over to 18, including five Thais who were part of an unscheduled release on Thursday.

After Saturday's exchange, Israel will have released 583 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including militants serving life sentences for deadly attacks as well as some detained during the war but not charged.

In Israel, crowds gathered at the location in Tel Aviv known as Hostage Square to watch the release on giant outdoor screens, mixing cheers and applause with tears as the three men appeared during the morning.

Kalderon, whose two children Erez and Sahar were released in the first prisoner exchange in November 2023, and Bibas both briefly mounted a stage in Khan Younis, in front of a poster of Hamas figures including Mohammad Deif, the former military commander whose death was confirmed by Hamas this week, before being handed over to the Red Cross officials.

"Ofer Kalderon is free! We share the immense relief and joy of his loved ones after 483 days of unimaginable hell," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement.