With guns being brandished, the distinctive green Hamas headbands and the din of the crowd, it must have seemed like the fateful day they were captured all over again.

But in fact, for the three hostages – one British – it was the opposite, the moment for which their families had been praying for 471 torturous days: freedom.

One can only imagine what was going through the minds of Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, as they were driven in a small white minibus into the shattered remains of Al-Saraya Square in Gaza City.

Mobbed by Palestinian civilians from all sides, the vehicle was surrounded by masked Hamas fighters wearing immaculate uniforms, no doubt intended to show the world that it would take more than 15 months of Israeli bombardment to wipe them off the map.