Moments before the Red Cross confirmed the start of the handover of Edan Alexander, photos showing US special envoy Steve Witkoff disembarking a helicopter in Israel were shared with us.

The Reuters news agency - which supplied the images - says he's in Re'im, in south of the country, which is located near Gaza. It's also where we expect Alexander to receive initial medical care before reuniting with his family.

Image source, Reuters

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed one hostage has been transferred to the Red Cross, citing information received from the aid organisation.

They are now on their way towards IDF forces in the Gaza Strip, it adds.

An Israeli official has confirmed that the handover of Edan Alexander from Hamas to the Red Cross has begun.

With Hamas reporting the handover of hostage Edan Alexander to the Red Cross - here's a quick look at how the Israeli side say today's release will unfold:

• It will follow the same procedure as previous hostage returns: Alexander will be handed from Hamas, to the Red Cross, to a special Israeli military unit
• Alexander will be transferred by a special unit to Re'im military base in Israel, where he will receive initial medical and psychological care, before reuniting with his family
• Alexander and his family will then be airlifted together to hospital in Tel Aviv
• We are not expecting a public handover, as happened with some hostage handovers in Gaza. Israel says it will only release footage with the Alexander family's consent.

You can follow along by pressing watch live at the top of the page.

Hamas says it has handed over Edan Alexander to the Red Cross.

He will now be transferred out of Gaza and given to the Israeli military.

An Israeli official says that the Red Cross has now arrived at the handover location in Khan Younis - a city in the south of Gaza.

They add that that the handover of Edan Alexander from Hamas to the Red Cross will happen shortly.

The Red Cross is on the way to the handover point in Khan Younis to collect Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, according to an Israeli official.

We’re resuming our live coverage here – stick with us for the latest updates.

Image source, EPA

As we've just reported, Edan Alexander is now due to be released this evening. Reports in Israel suggest it could be at 18:30 local time (16:30 BST).

For now, we're pausing our live coverage - but we'll resume once we get news of Alexander's release.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, GPO

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer says the scheduled release of Edan Alexander is due to "relentless military pressure exerted by our brave IDF forces".

As we just reported, he says the "latest information" is that "Edan is now scheduled to be released this evening".

He reiterates that Israel hasn't agreed to a ceasefire or the release of "terrorists" and hasn't given Hamas any concessions.

He added that there is a "serious" deal on the table that will bring all hostages home.

We've just heard from Israeli government spokesman, David Mencer, who says Edan Alexander is now due to be released this evening.

We'll have more from Mencer's announcement soon.

Yael Alexander, the mother of hostage Edan, has arrived in Israel from the US and has spoken to local media from Ben Gurion airport.

She says the 58 remaining hostages (there are currently 59, including Edan) must be returned, adding "this isn't over".

“We cannot rest and we cannot forget, everyone needs to come home."

She also says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the strength to make a deal. "Now is the time," she adds.

After making the remarks, Yael reportedly boarded an Israeli military helicopter and flew to the Re'im base on the Gaza border - where the Israeli military is due to take her son once he has been released.

Image source, EPA

Image source, CBS News

Crowds of people in Edan Alexander's hometown in the US are watching a public livestream of his expected release by Hamas.

Our US-partner CBS News has been to Tenafly, New Jersey to report on the gathering, which began in the early hours of the morning local time.

Image source, Amos Ben Gershom / GPO

Israeli President Isaac Herzog says Edan Alexander's impending release is being welcomed with "deep emotion and trembling hearts".

Speaking on a visit to Germany, he says Israel makes "no distinction between one citizen and another, and certainly not between those who hold a foreign passport and those who do not" - seemingly a reference to Alexander being a dual citizen with the US.

"The duty to bring back all the hostages is a sacred and holy moral obligation of the State of Israel," Herzog says.

"I cry out from here, loudly, to the family of nations: bring them home, now — every last one of them.”

Image source, Reuters

As we have reported, US President Donald Trump is due to land in the Middle East tomorrow - but his special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff has already arrived in Israel, according to reports there.

Last night, the Alexander family said: "We express our deepest gratitude to President Trump, Steve Witkoff, and the US administration for their tireless work to make this happen.

"We urge the Israeli government and the negotiating teams: please don't stop. We hope our son's release begins negotiations for all 58 remaining hostages, ending this nightmare for them and their families."

Image source, EPA

A new report says the entire population of Gaza - some 2.1 million people - is at critical risk of famine after 19 months of conflict, mass displacement, and the blockade of humanitarian aid.

According to a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global hunger scale used by the UN and many aid agencies, half a million people in the territory are facing starvation.

Israel has prevented any aid entering Gaza since early March, saying it's putting pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

"Goods indispensable for people’s survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming weeks," the IPC says, adding that the "risk of famine in the Gaza Strip is not just possible - it is increasingly likely".

The report, which was prepared based on work between 1 April and 10 May, says this represents a significant deterioration in the situation since its last analysis in October.

Trump's Middle East visit comes with Netanyahu under pressurepublished at 11:28 British Summer Time

11:28 BST

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Tel Aviv

The expected release of Edan Alexander happens a day before President Trump is due to arrive in the region. Families of the hostages who remain in Gaza, some of them gathered here in Tel Aviv, hope this moment will lead to a deal that results in all captives being freed, without further delays.

Hamas has described this decision as a goodwill gesture, and says it is ready to negotiate an agreement that includes the end of the war, a condition that has been repeatedly rejected by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

For a long time, critics of the prime minister have accused him of not being interested in a deal and of prolonging the war for political purposes – in particular, to please hardline members of the coalition that sustains his government.

In recent days, multiple reports have suggested that the Trump administration is increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu. This could result in pressure on Netanyahu to accept a deal, and he might be left with no other alternative.

After 19 months, public support in Israel for the war is falling, and the security cabinet’s decision last week to expand the military offensive if there is no deal by the end of Trump’s visit has been controversial, here and elsewhere.

How this will fundamentally change the situation on the ground remains unclear. With some of Netanyahu’s allies, including far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, speaking about seizing territory and occupying Gaza, many are questioning what his true intentions are.

US President Donald Trump has just posted on his Truth Social platform about the release.

"EDAN ALEXANDER, AMERICAN HOSTAGE THOUGHT DEAD, TO BE RELEASED BY HAMAS. GREAT NEWS!"

Image source, Getty Images

As we await the handover of Edan Alexander, Gazans have called for an end to the Israeli blockade of the Strip.

"We demand the entry of aid, because we are starving, and we do not have food, flour or anything," Ayman Nassar, a Gaza resident, tells Reuters news agency.

Maher Al Jourani adds that Gazans don't want a "temporary ceasefire" but a permanent one.

"We are tired and hopeless...wishing for death... [it would be] better than living, due to scarcity," he tells Reuters.

Israel broke a two-month ceasefire on 18 March when it launched strikes on Gaza. Israel has also blocked the entry of food, medication, and other humanitarian supplies into Gaza for more than two months.

Aid agencies say it amounts to a policy of starvation and could be a war crime.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its offensive in 2023, in response to Hamas's attacks on 7 October. The total includes more 2,500 killed since the Israeli offensive resumed in March.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Tel Aviv

People are starting to gather in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, which since the beginning of the war has been the main gathering point for the families of those who were kidnapped on 7 October 2023 during the Hamas attacks.

Most of them are critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and have been urging him to strike a deal with Hamas for all hostages to be freed and for the end of the war.

Here, people are carrying placards with the faces of those who remain in captivity - 59 hostages are still in Gaza, but only 24 are believed to remain alive.

One woman, dressed in yellow, the colour that symbolises this crisis, is carrying a poster saying: "Trump, stop the war. In Trump we trust."

A huge screen keeps track of how long the hostages have been in captivity: 583 days.

Image source, Hugo Bachega / BBC

We've just had more information from the Israeli side on how today's release of Edan Alexander should unfold:

• The release will follow the same procedure as previous hostage returns: Alexander will be handed from Hamas, to the Red Cross, to a special Israeli military unit
• Alexander will be transferred by a special unit to Re'im in Israel, where he will receive initial medical and psychological care, before reuniting with his family
• Alexander and his family will then be airlifted together to hospital in Tel Aviv

We are not expecting a public handover, as happened with some hostage handovers in Gaza. Israel says it will only release footage with the Alexander family's consent.