Israel has returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says, as part of an exchange agreed in the ceasefire deal
Hamas earlier returned the remains of two Israelis - the deal says Israel will return 15 Palestinian bodies for every Israeli body
So far, Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages but only nine of the 28 dead hostages - the group says it needs specialist equipment to find the others
The delay has raised fears the ceasefire could collapse, but senior US advisers downplay the threat, saying Hamas intends to "honour" the deal
Meanwhile, Israel says "preparations are ongoing" for opening the Rafah crossing for people in Gaza, but aid will only enter through other checkpoints
Israel does not allow international news organisations, including the BBC, into Gaza to report freely
We now have pictures of Hamas gunmen standing guard as the Red Cross departs Gaza City to return the bodies of two hostages to Israel.
As we've been reporting, we expect Israel to receive the remains of two hostages shortly.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, ReutersHamas has returned eight bodies during this phase of the ceasefire, but Israel says DNA testing confirmed one was not a hostage.
That meant 21 bodies remained in Gaza as of this afternoon.
Israel says it expects to receive two more bodies tonight, which - if they are confirmed to be the remains of hostages - will take the number to 19.
That would mean Hamas has been unable to find almost two thirds of the dead hostages.
Israel says it expects to receive the bodies of two more hostages imminently, with the IDF on its way to collect the coffins from the Red Cross.
We have also had a statement from Israel, which confirms the Red Cross has been transferred more bodies by Hamas.
The IDF says it expects to receive "several" without specifying a number.
Hamas has released a new statement in the last few minutes confirming it has handed over the bodies of more hostages to the Red Cross.
But the group says it has now handed over all the bodies it can access.
Retrieving the remaining bodies will require "significant efforts and specialised equipment", Hamas says.
We're restarting out live coverage to bring you these latest developments. We'll have more detail soon.
Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter
Image source, ReutersFive days after it was signed, the ceasefire remains in place - but for many, the suffering isn't over.
One Gazan says his hometown is "completely uninhabitable - only wild animals remain", while a mother of seven living in a tent in Deir al-Balah hopes for the delivery of construction materials "so that we can begin rebuilding".
There have been more calls for Hamas to disarm after reports of armed violence on the streets of Gaza.
Meanwhile, efforts are under way to identify the bodies of Palestinians handed over by Israel. Forty five were returned today, taking the total to 90 so far.
In Israel, funerals are being held for the dead hostages returned by Hamas overnight, as the country mourns those who did not survive captivity.
And tensions continue over the 21 bodies still inside Gaza. While Hamas says it will return two more tonight, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced earlier today that one of the four returned overnight "does not match any of the hostages".
The Israeli government says it "will not compromise" on the return of remains and will "spare no effort until our fallen hostages return". It has threatened to halt the opening of the Rafah crossing to restrict aid entering Gaza - an action criticised as "outrageous" by aid agencies.
We're pausing our live coverage for now but you can read more elsewhere on the BBC News website.
The "happiest day of our lives" is how Moshe Lavi describes seeing his brother-in-law Omri Miran, one of the hostages released alive by Hamas on Monday.
Miran has "returned with a sound mind and stable condition" and is currently recovering in hospital, Lavi tells the BBC News Channel.
"Those small, trivial moments that we have now are so meaningful," he says, and adds: "The first laugh, the first hug and the first meal together."
Days earlier, while attending a rally in Washington DC, he was among a group who received a phone call from Donald Trump informing them the hostage release was imminent.
Lavi says: "He called us himself to congratulate us and announce officially the deal was struck."
Now, he says, the focus needs to be on ensuring the families of dead hostages are reunited with them, adding: "They all have their own story, their own family that needs closure."
Hamas confirms it will hand over the bodies of two more hostages tonight.
In a statement posted on social media, the group says two bodies will be returned to Israel at 22:00 local time.
Amira Dakroury
World Service Gaza Lifeline
Seham Mosaleh is still waiting for aid to reach her as winter draws closer.
The displaced mother of four says the tent she now lives in provides no protection, and adds: "We urgently need to rebuild our homes."
"To use a bathroom, I have to move from one school to another.
"The construction of proper bathrooms has become one of our most urgent needs."
As temperatures start to cool, she says: "I don’t even have a blanket to cover my son with."
Amira Dakroury
World Service Gaza Lifeline
Despite the war, some 26,000 secondary school pupils in Gaza were able to sit the general examination electronically, with results now published for the first time in two years.
Among those receiving them is Lana al-Wakil, who says: “I had been waiting for this joyful moment for two years until I finally achieved this great success despite the ongoing war."
She continues: "I remained in Gaza during those two years, never moving to the south, and endured all the hardships.
"Even after our house was bombed and destroyed over our heads, my family and I miraculously survived.
“I will never forget that on the night before my English exam, we received evacuation warnings for our neighbourhood, and my family and I spent the entire night out on the street."
David Gritten
BBC News
Bodies were returned marked with "codes and numbers" but not names, a Palestinian health official says
A health official in Gaza says experts are working to identify the bodies of the 90 Palestinians handed over by Israel in exchange for dead hostages held by Hamas.
If unsuccessful, photos are to be posted online so families can search for missing relatives, Dr Mohammed Zaqout, director general of hospitals for the Hamas-run health ministry, says.
Footage filmed by a freelance journalist working for the BBC at Nasser Hospital's mortuary appears to show the body of a blindfolded man. Another body seems to have marks around the wrists and ankles.
The BBC has asked the Israeli military and justice ministry for comment. They have previously rejected accusations of widespread ill-treatment and torture of detainees.
Zaqout says the first group of bodies returned by Israel contains some which "are clearly recognisable, while others are difficult to identify".
Amira Dakroury
World Service Gaza Lifeline
Saadia Rabie, a mother of seven who lives in a tent at Deir al-Balah after being displaced from Jabalia in northern Gaza, says she is very happy at the prospect of the Rafah crossing opening.
“I hope that construction materials will be allowed to enter so that we can begin rebuilding," she says.
"I also hope our relatives abroad will be able to return. We need medical supplies and essential goods that are lacking inside the Gaza Strip.
"I wish that patients would be able to travel abroad to receive treatment.
"We are in urgent need of tents and more aid, especially after Gaza was completely destroyed and became uninhabitable. I truly hope it can be rebuilt again."
Asked about her future, she says: “I will not leave my country - I only hope that it will be rebuilt and that those who are displaced or abroad will be able to return.
"My greatest wish is that patients can travel to receive the treatment they need."
Image source, ReutersMichael Illouz (far right) has spoken in memory of his son Guy during his funeral procession today
A funeral has been held for Guy Illouz, one of the dead Israeli hostages returned overnight, with his father telling mourners in Ra'anana: “I will miss you every second, every minute of my life."
According to the Times of Israel, external, Michael Illouz said: "They kidnapped you, they murdered you, they kidnapped me too, and my very identity, they murdered my soul and heart."
Guy Illouz, 26, was taken hostage when Hamas gunmen attacked the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023. He is believed to have died of his injuries while in captivity.
Image source, EPAIf you're just joining us, here is the latest from the Middle East:
Amira Dakroury
World Service Gaza Lifeline
Mahmoud Radwan, a father of three, has been displaced to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza from Jabalia in the north.
He says: “I was displaced due to the lack of resources, widespread destruction and the extremely difficult situation in northern Gaza.
“So far, I have been unable to return to my area due to the massive destruction there.
"All the roads are closed, and there is no water, no services and no sign of life - not even hospitals.
“I am currently receiving treatment in a hospital, and I know that if I return to Jabalia, I may not survive, as there are no medical facilities left.
"That area has become completely uninhabitable - only wild animals remain there.”
Amira Dakroury
World Service Gaza Lifeline
Khaled Halas has been displaced from the Shuja'iyya area of Gaza City and has been forced to move many times.
He lives with his six children in a tent in Deir al-Balah and decided not to return north as everything he had is lost.
“The Shuja’iyya [area] is completely closed. I went to the vegetable market where gunfire broke out, we have no protection," he says.
"There is constant shooting in our area, and life there is completely destroyed. There is no water, no electricity and no tents.
“I have been displaced more than 20 times, and now I have decided to stay here in Deir al-Balah and not leave again."
A senior US military leader responsible for operations in the Middle East has called on Hamas to "suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza".
Adm Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, urges the group to seize "an historic opportunity for peace" by "fully standing down, strictly adhering to President Trump's 20-point peace plan and disarming without delay".
He issued the statement after reports emerged of masked Hamas gunmen carrying out public executions in recent days.
Cooper says the US has "conveyed our concerns" to other countries involved in mediating the latest ceasefire, adding: "We remain highly optimistic for the future of peace in the region."
His comments come as the UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher also says he is "gravely concerned by the evidence of violence against civilians in Gaza".
Israel has returned the bodies of a further 45 Palestinians, the Hamas-run health ministry has confirmed.
They were transported by the Red Cross. No further details about their identities have been publicly confirmed.
It takes the total number of bodies released by Israel to 90.
The first half were returned a day after Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages.
Image source, Government Press Office (GPO)Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says the "the mission is not complete" while the bodies of some hostages remain in Gaza.
Hamas "is required to uphold its commitments to the mediators and return all of our hostages", she says, referring to the bodies of the 21 deceased hostages that are still in Gaza.
She continues: "We will not compromise on this and we will spare no effort until our fallen hostages return, every last one of them."
Badrosian later adds that Israel "stands firm" in "making sure that Gaza does not pose a threat to the state of Israel ever again".
Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Tel Aviv
Image source, Hostages and Missing Families ForumAmong the bodies returned to Israel today was Tamir Nimrodi, a non-combat soldier whose family had, until last night, not been told whether he was alive or dead.
I spoke to his mother Herut around a week ago in Tel Aviv, where she had joined a rally calling for Tamir’s return.
"To hope for two years - it's absolutely exhausting,” she told me at the time, adding that she was "fearing the worst" for her son, but clinging to hope that he was “still hanging on”.
In a statement today, the family said that “after two years of excruciating uncertainty, we received the difficult news of the identification of our dear Tamir”.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents many of the relatives of those taken on 7 October 2023, said he was kidnapped from his base alive and killed in an Israeli military bombing while held captive by Hamas.
The Forum said that after he was taken hostage, a note he had written was found in his room, which read: “I want to help as many people as possible, expand social circles, and never hurt anyone.”