Hamas has released three Israeli hostages, after days of fears over future of the Gaza ceasefire
The hostages are now back in Israel - watch our coverage live at the top of the page
Israel is releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners in return - a few went to the West Bank, the majority are now arriving in Gaza
Hamas said on Monday it would not release hostages this weekend, blaming Israel for alleged violations of the the ceasefire
Israel said if hostages weren't released by midday (local time) on Saturday, it would resume attacks on Gaza
Watch: Celebrations in Israel as three more hostages released
Image source, ReutersA Red Cross worker is now at a table with a Hamas member, signing papers on the stage set up for the hostage release.
We have seen similar scenes at previous hostage handovers.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe release of Alexander Troufanov, Yair Horn and Sagui Dekel-Chen, now seems to be moments away.
Watch live at the top of the page.
Image source, ReutersThree vehicles with Red Cross flags have now arrived in Khan Younis for the hostage handover.
The Red Cross will take the hostages to the Israeli military in Gaza, once handed over by Hamas.
As with previous hostage handovers, crowds have gathered - but are being kept back at the moment.
As a reminder, you can watch the scene live from Khan Younis at the top of the page.
The scene earlier in Khan Younis
Paul Adams
Reporting from near Kfar Saba, near Tel Aviv
Journalists and friends of Yair Horn, a 46-year-old Argentine-Israeli being freed from Gaza today, have gathered in Kfar Saba, near Tel Aviv, to watch his release.
Image source, Courtesy of Bring Them Home Now campaignYair Horn
Davide Ghiglione
Reporting from Tel Aviv
People are starting to gather now in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, watching live news footage from Gaza on a large screen, anxiously for the hostages' return.
Paul Adams
Reporting from Kfar Saba near Tel Aviv
Image source, Getty ImagesA giant poster to the left of the stage in Khan Younis, where the hostages are due to be handed over to the Red Cross, is full of potent imagery.
It shows a rear view of the former Hamas military chief, Yahya Sinwar, sitting in a dusty red armchair in a room full of rubble, looking out through the shattered wall of the room where he was killed by Israeli gunfire last October.
The stylised image draws on the footage of Sinwar’s final moments, released by the Israeli military. The slogan above the Sinwar picture says "no migration except to Jerusalem" - that's a direct challenge to Donald Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians outside of Gaza.
In the poster, Sinwar is seen staring out through the hole in the wall at a silhouette of a man holding the Palestinian flag, standing in front of Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock.
The mixture of Palestinian iconography, old and new, is powerful. Sinwar’s death, it defiantly says, was a necessary sacrifice on the path towards national liberation.
A former Israeli official messaged me this morning to say it was a mistake for Israel to have released the footage of Sinwar’s death.
"It raised him to a mythical status," he said.
Together with the now familiar images of heavily armed militants from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, parading at another handover ceremony, it’s all part of a concerted effort by the gunmen to say that they are still a force to be reckoned with.
We're expecting the hostage release to begin soon - here are the latest pictures from Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, where the release will take place.
As a reminder, Israel has been unhappy with the chaotic nature of some of the previous releases.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, ReutersThe Al-Quds Brigades - the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group - have released a video this morning showing Russian-Israeli hostage Alexander Troufanov receiving news of his release.
It's unclear when the video was taken.
The PIJ, which is separate to Hamas, has reportedly held some of the hostages in Gaza, and has been involved with their release.
Image source, The Hostages and Missing Families ForumAlexander Trufanov, in a picture taken before he was kidnapped on 7 October, 2023
Image source, EPAIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday if hostages aren't released today, "the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated"
The fate of the hostages due to be released today - and the Gaza ceasefire itself - has been unclear all week.
On Monday, Hamas said it wouldn't release the hostages, claiming Israel had violated the terms of the three-week-old ceasefire deal.
Israel responded by saying it would resume bombing Gaza if hostages were not released on time.
US President Donald Trump also weighed in, saying Israel should let "all hell" break out, if all 73 hostages still being held in Gaza (not all of them alive) were not released my midday local time today.
Hamas later said it remained committed to the ceasefire, and that Israel was "responsible for any complications or delays".
This morning, we expect to see three men who were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz, on the edge of Gaza, during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.
Their names - confirmed by Hamas - are:
Since the ceasefire began on 19 January, Hamas has released 16 Israeli and five Thai hostages. Israel has released 766 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Red Cross.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe scene in Khan Younis this morning, where Hamas is due to release the hostages
Image source, Hostages and Missing Families ForumAlexander Troufanov (left), Yair Horn (centre) and Sagui Dekel-Chen (right) were taken from the same kibbutz
We’re expecting Hamas to release three Israeli hostages today - and, in return, Israel free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The names of the Israelis being freed were confirmed by Hamas yesterday - Alexander Troufanov, Yair Horn and Sagui Dekel-Chen.
In return, 369 Palestinian prisoners will be let out of Israeli jails - 36 who have life sentences and 333 from the Gaza Strip who were detained without charges after 7 October, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office.
Today's scheduled release comes after days of fears over the Gaza ceasefire, which began last month. On Monday, Hamas said it would not release the hostages, accusing Israel of breaching the ceasefire.
In return, Israel said it would resume attacks on Gaza if hostages were not released
In last week’s release, the three male hostages were paraded in front of crowds in Gaza, with concerns later raised for their health.
A short while after, 183 Palestinian prisoners were freed from Israeli jails. Again, concerns were raised following reports some needed hospital treatment.
We’ll bring you all the latest as today’s handover unfolds - including from our teams on the ground.