A sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, has arrived in Israel after being handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza, according to the IDF
Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert were released in Nuseirat, central Gaza, while Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham were freed in Rafah, southern Gaza
In return, Israel is set to free 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, according to the Palestinian prisoners' media office
Questions remain over Hamas's handling of Shiri Babas, who was "brought home" last night after a body returned on Thursday turned out not to be hers, the BBC's Sebastian Usher writes
Watch: Five Israeli hostages released in Gaza
More now on hostage Hisham al-Sayed, who was released earlier today by Hamas during a private handover after being held in captivity since 2015.
The IDF says in a post on X , externalthat he's "now taking off" in a helicopter and is being accompanied to hospital by his family.
It adds that he will "meet the rest of his family" there and will receive medical treatment.
'That's not the way anyone should die,' says hostage's grandson
The grandson of Israeli hostage Oded Lifschitz, 84, whose body was returned from Gaza to Israel this week, has spoken to the BBC.
Daniel Lifschitz criticised Hamas for kidnapping a great-grandfather and holding him in "poor conditions, without food, without medication".
He described his grandfather as "a warrior of peace" and said "a generation of education" free from Hamas was needed in order to bring peace to the region.
Image source, HandoutHisham al-Sayed was released by Hamas today, without a public ceremony
Hisham al-Sayed, the last of the six hostages freed today, has been seen in a newly released photo from Reuters, taken by Hamas's Military Wing.
Al-Sayed, who is from the Arab Israeli Bedouin community in Israel, had been held in captivity since 2015.
Unlike all the other hostage handovers that Hamas has so far conducted, he was handed over to the Red Cross without a public ceremony in Gaza City.
Hamas has not explained why.
Image source, IDFHostage Tal Shoham has been reunited with his family in Israel after been released by Hamas earlier today, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says.
The 40-year-old was taken by Hamas from the Kibbutz Be'eri on 7 October 2023 with his wife and their two children, who were released 50 days later.
Members and vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been seen outside the Israeli prison of Ofer in the West Bank today.
We're expecting Israel to release 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees - which is part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas - according to the Palestinian prisoners' media office.
Here's what we've been seeing outside Ofer Prison today:
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, ReutersSebastian Usher
Middle East analyst, in Jerusalem
Today more than 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are due to be released from Israeli jails.
It's the largest release in one go since the ceasefire began, in part because there were no Palestinians released during Thursday's handover of the dead hostages.
We're going to see around 400 prisoners who have been detained by Israel since 7 October. There was a great upsurge in the number of Palestinians taken by Israel after 7 October.
There will also be more than 100 who were sentenced to either long or life sentences for the most serious offences, including the killing of Israelis.
This would include the longest-serving of those prisoners, Nael Barghouti, who has spent 45 years in jail. He was originally jailed in 1978 for killing an Israeli bus driver.
The Israel Defense Force has released a picture of hostage Omer Wenkert, who was released by Hamas earlier today.
He has been reunited with his family at the initial reception point in Israel.
Image source, IDFWe can bring you a bit more on Hisham al-Sayed, who was handed over to the Red Cross in a private exchange in Gaza City earlier.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) says he's being accompanied by medical officials and members of its human resources department.
"He will undergo an initial medical evaluation and meet with his family. IDF representatives accompany the other family members waiting at the hospital and provide them with regular updates," the IDF says in a post on X., external
We have not yet seen any video or pictures of al-Sayed since his release.
Image source, ReutersPeople cheer as Hisham al-Sayed is driven to an Israeli military base following his release
We've just seen a statement from the family of Hisham al-Sayed, the sixth hostage released today.
"The al-Sayed family is moved by Hisham's return home. After nearly a decade of fighting for Hisham's return, the long-awaited moment has arrived," a statement posted by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum reads.
"During these days, we need privacy for Hisham and the entire family so we can begin to care for Hisham and ourselves."
Al-Sayed, whose release was conducted in private, is from the Arab Israeli Bedouin community in Israel and was seized in 2015 after crossing into Gaza on his own.
Watch: Six Israeli hostages released in Gaza
Six Israeli hostages are now back in Israel after being handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza.
Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham were freed by Hamas on Saturday morning, in a highly-choreographed event in Rafah in southern Gaza.
Hours later, in Nuseirat in central Gaza, three men - Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert - were handed over amid similar scenes.
Hisham al-Sayed, the last of the six hostages freed today, was released without a public ceremony shortly before 13:00 GMT (15:00 local time).
Image source, ReutersAll six Israeli hostages due to be released today as part of a hostage-for-prisoner swap are now back on Israeli soil.
Here's how the day's events have unfolded so far:
Stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest updates.
The sixth hostage to be released today, Hisham al-Sayed, has been received by the Israeli military, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says.
He has also now "crossed the border into Israeli territory", the IDF says.
Unlike the other five hostages released this morning, who were freed in a highly-orchestrated public ceremony, Hisham al-Sayed's release was conducted in private.
We can bring you some more now on today's expected release of 602 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
The freeing of the latest group of prisoners is part of the seventh batch of the prisoner exchange deal and ceasefire's first phase in Gaza.
The BBC understands that Saturday's release includes 50 prisoners serving life sentences, 60 prisoners with high sentences, and 47 prisoners who were re-arrested after the 2011 Shalit Deal, according to a Palestinian prisoners’ media office statement on Friday.
The office also said that 445 detainees from Gaza, who were arrested after 7 October, 2023, will be among those released.
Image source, GPO/ReutersWe're now seeing photos of Avera Mengistu, one of the two hostages freed earlier this morning, reuniting with his family at the initial reception point in Israel shortly after his release.
Ethiopian-Israeli Mengistu, who was captured by Hamas in 2014, is embraced by his siblings after being held in Gaza for more than decade.
Image source, IDF
Image source, IDF
Sebastian Usher
Middle East analyst, in Jerusalem
The release of Israeli hostages in Gaza has for the first time been done in three different locations in one day.
The final handover has been of Hisham al-Sayed, who is from the Arab Israeli Bedouin community in Israel.
He's been held in captivity by Hamas since he crossed over by himself into the Palestinian enclave in 2015.
Unlike all the other hostage handovers that Hamas has so far conducted in highly stage-managed events, Hisham al-Sayed was handed over to the Red Cross without a public ceremony in Gaza City.
Hamas has not explained why.
But he is the first Arab Israeli to be freed.
The Israeli media is reporting that his release was carried out in private 'out of respect' for the Arab community in Israel to which he belongs.
The sixth hostage has now been handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have said.
Hisham al-Sayed was handed over by Hamas in Gaza City, according to the Times of Israel.
The Red Cross is now bringing Hisham al-Sayed to IDF and Shin Bet security service forces inside Gaza, to then be escorted out of the Strip, according to military sources who spoke with the newspaper.
The mother of an American-Israeli hostage says she pictures her son's release "every second of the day".
Yael Alexander is the mother of Edan Alexander, who was captured by Hamas on 7 October 2023 when he was 19 years old.
She says her "beautiful boy" is not expected to be released until phase two of the ceasefire agreement and talks on this stage have not begun yet.
Yael Alexander said her son, Edan, was not expected to be released until phase two of the ceasefire agreement
Speaking to the BBC at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Yael Alexander described how it felt to see this morning's hostages released: "I'm hopeful, to see the hostages on their feet - it's amazing."
She shared that Edan who is an American citizen, has two younger siblings waiting for his release back in the US where they live in New Jersey.
"They're just wishing that their brother will come back home."
Yael says she has given up work to lobby for her sons release to officials in Washington DC and returns to Tel Aviv regularly week to connect with other hostage families, saying "we're all one big family now".
She told the BBC that seeing the hostages released gives her renewed hope for the return of her son.
As we've reported, Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov is now back in Israel, along with four others who were held in Gaza.
We've just seen a statement from his family, which was posted on X by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
"Our Omeriko is home after 505 days of suffering and nightmare. Our child, our brother, who became a child of the entire state of Israel since 7 October, has returned home despite medical difficulties," it reads.
"We still don't know everything - the horror stories will only be revealed with time. But now, we can hug him again."
Image source, EPAThe moment freed hostage Tal Shoham arrived at Petah Tikva hospital in Israel
Five of the six hostages held by Hamas have been freed and as we await news of the final hostage - Hisham al-Sayed - who is also expected to be released today, here are some images of the day's events so far.
Image source, ReutersFriends of Omer Shem Tov, 22, celebrated in Tel Aviv after hearing news he had been released by Hamas in Nuseirat in central Gaza
Image source, ReutersThere were also plenty of cheers and smiles as friends of Omer Wenkert, 23, welcomed the news of his release in Nuseirat this morning
Sebastian Usher
Middle East analyst, in Jerusalem
As we reported earlier, the family of Shiri Bibas says that last night she was "brought home".
That came after the remains Hamas handed over in Gaza on Thursday turned out not to be hers.
By Friday night, Hamas handed over another body that Israel has now identified as hers.
The incident caused shock and anger in Israel.
In response, Hamas said there might have been an error, perhaps due - it said - to human remains becoming mixed due to Israeli air strikes.
That raises the question of why they were then able to provide her genuine remains so swiftly. No explanation of that has yet been given.
Image source, PA MediaShiri Bibas was kidnapped with her two children during the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has dismissed Hamas's claim that Shiri Bibas and her children were killed in an Israeli air strike as lies.
Hamas was not the Palestinian armed faction that abducted Shiri Bibas or her children, nor is it believed to have held them afterwards.
That could suggest that Hamas did not have full command of the process of the handover of her body and perhaps didn't make necessary checks.
The body that was originally handed over is unknown, but it was not that of another hostage, according to Israel.
There is also the possibility that Hamas did it knowingly but that raises questions over why it would wish to endanger the already fragile ceasefire with such a blatantly provocative act.