Israel Gaza ceasefire: 183 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jail after Hamas releases three Israeli hostages

Summary

Buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners have arrived in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip after leaving Israeli prisons
Large crowds gathered to welcome the freed prisoners, as Israel confirmed all 183 people due to be freed today have been released
Meanwhile, the Rafah crossing - which is the sole crossing between Egypt and the Gaza strip - has reopened after eight months, as the first group of wounded Palestinians have been evacuated to Egypt
This comes after the earlier release of three Israeli hostages - Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon and Keith Siegel - as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that began on 19 January
In Tel Aviv, BBC's Alice Cuddy says the orderly scenes at the releases this morning are a "stark contrast" to the chaotic handover on Thursday

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Celebrations as crowd greets freed Palestinian prisoners in West Bank

Live Reporting

Edited by Matt Spivey and Neha Gohil

Orderly scenes in Gaza - a stark contrast to chaotic handover on Thursdaypublished at 07:03 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February
Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Tel Aviv
It's early morning here in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and a small crowd had gathered in time to watch Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas be handed to the Red Cross in Khan Younis.
The men waved from a stage, flanked by armed and masked fighters. The orderly scenes were in stark contrast to Thursday's chaotic handover in southern Gaza, which was condemned by the Israeli government.
"Pure happiness," a woman next to me says when asked how she is feeling.
Freed hostages to be taken to Israel by Red Cross, IDF confirmpublished at 06:59 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says the Red Cross has notified the military that Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon have been handed over.
The Red Cross will now bring the two men to Israeli forces in Gaza.
Ofer Kalderon handed over to Red Crosspublished at 06:48 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February
Image source, Reuters
We've just got the first images of Hamas handing over Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon in Khan Younis.
He was escorted on to a temporary stage, flanked by armed, masked gunmen and waved from the stage.
Kalderon then met Red Cross workers.
Hamas hands over Israeli hostages Bibas and Kalderonpublished at 06:46 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February
Breaking
We have seen two of the three Israeli hostages being released by Hamas.
Yarden Bibas, 34, and Ofer Kalderon, 53, have been handed over.
We are still waiting for the release of Keith Siegel, 65, a US-Israeli citizen. He is due to be handed over in a separate ceremony in Gaza City.
He and his wife Adrienne, also known as Aviva, were taken from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Adrienne was released during the first ceasefire in November 2023.
Release of Israeli hostages taking placepublished at 06:41 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February
Breaking
Red Cross vehicles have arrived in the southern city of Khan Younis in preparation for Israeli hostages to be handed over by Hamas, according to Reuters.
We're seeing a stage that has been set up as hostages are guided over to the platform by soldiers.
We'll bring you the latest updates as we get them. You can follow along by clicking watch live at the top of this page.
Preparations for hostage release under way in southern Gazapublished at 06:35 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February
This is the fourth release of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza since the ceasefire deal came into effect on 19 January.
We can see preparations under way in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
Previous releases have taken place across Gaza - including in Gaza City and Jabalia in the north.
Hostages have previously been paraded in front of crowds in Gaza - this has ranged from highly choreographed appearances, as we saw in last Saturday’s release in Gaza City, to chaotic escorts through surging crowds such as the release on Thursday in Khan Younis.
What is consistent is that the hostages are transported out of Gaza by the Red Cross and taken to Israel where they are reunited with family and checked over by medical staff.
Once the hostages are safely back in Israel, the Palestinian prisoners are loaded onto buses and released into Palestinian territories.
Who are the Israeli hostages expected to be released today?published at 06:28 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February
Image source, Family handout
Image caption,
Left to right: Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon
Three more Israeli hostages held by Hamas since 7 October 2023 are due to be released today. All three of them are male civilians.
- Yarden Bibas, 34, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his wife, Shiri, 33, and their two young children, Ariel, five, and Kfir, two. Last weekend, Israel said it was "extremely concerned" about the welfare of Shiri and her two sons. Hamas claimed in November 2023 that they had been killed in an Israeli air strike, but the Israeli military has not confirmed their deaths
- Keith Siegel, 65, is a US-Israeli citizen. He and his wife Adrienne, also known as Aviva, were taken from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Adrienne was released during the first ceasefire in November 2023
- Ofer Kalderon, 53, was taken by Hamas from Nir Oz, along with his two children, Erez and Sahar. Both children were released during the first ceasefire in November 2023. Two other family members - 80-year-old Carmela Dan and her granddaughter, Noya, 12 - were killed in the 7 October attack
Three Israeli hostages to be released as Israel to free more than 180 prisonerspublished at 06:22 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February
A further three Israeli hostages, who have been held in Gaza since the Hamas attacks in October 2023, are expected to be released.
Israel is due to free more than 180 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
The three Israeli hostages expected to be released today are Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon.
Calderon and Bibas were taken from their Nir Oz kibbutz homes and Siegel was taken from his home in Kfar Aza.
This is the fourth hostage release and prisoner swap since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on 19 January.
Our writers in London and correspondents across the region will bring you the latest updates and analysis. Stay with us.