As we've been reporting, hostage Arbel Yehud was expected to be freed today but was ultimately not included.

Just now, a Palestinian official with close ties to Hamas and involved in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement tells the BBC: "Hamas has just informed the mediators that the Israeli captive, Arbel Yehud, is alive and will be released next Saturday."

Earlier, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said Gazans would not be allowed to enter the northern Gaza Strip until she was released.

Rushdi Abualouf
BBC News Gaza correspondent, in Cairo

Hamas seems to be playing the “hostage card” quite effectively.

For Hamas, the Israeli hostages are its primary leverage and it seems to be using it the best they can.

Today’s handover scene looks more disciplined, organised, and less chaotic than previous ones, largely because Hamas has spent the past week - since the start of the ceasefire - preparing for this military display.

Through it, Hamas aims to convey a clear message: “We’re here, and we’re the ones who decide what happens the day after the war.”

Yet this spectacle encapsulates the suffering of 2.3 million Palestinians.

These fleeting moments quickly collide with the grim reality the war has left behind.

As usual, Palestinians are divided over the handover of hostages in Palestine Square.

Those who support Hamas feel a sense of victory, while those who oppose it see it as belittling the pain of bereaved families.

In a statement, Hamas says "a new group of our heroic prisoners" - many with life sentences or lengthy terms - will "see the light of day today".

As part of the ceasefire, 33 Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the initial six-week phase.

Three Israeli citizens and 90 Palestinians prisoners were exchanged last Sunday. Today, after the release of four female Israeli soldiers, about 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are expected to be freed.

Under the agreement, 50 prisoners are to be released for every Israeli soldier, and 30 prisoners are released for every Israeli civilian.

Image source, Reuters

During his press conference a little earlier, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari expressed concern for the welfare of two children still held by Hamas.

The youngest hostages still in Gaza are part of the Bibas family. They are brothers Kfir and Ariel, aged two and four respectively.

Kfir was only 10 months old when he was taken captive alongside his parents Sheri and Yarden.

Hamas said in December 2023 that Sheri and the boys had been killed.

However, Israeli authorities have never confirmed the deaths.

Yarden's second cousin Eylon Keshet says he is scared to hope, ahead of the family's long awaited release.

"I'm not letting myself truly imagine it, because when I start to imagine it I feel like my stomach turning," he says, adding that seeing the boys and their parents alive would be a "miracle".

Israel says it will not let Gazans cross into the northern Gaza Strip until arrangements are made for the release of civilian Arbel Yehud, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

Yehud was meant to be included in today's release list. It's still unclear why her name has been left off.

Other civilians that are still held in Gaza include the Bibas family - two parents and two children. One of the children was just 10 months old at the time they were captured.

Image source, The Hostages and Missing Families Forum

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says the four returning hostages have arrived and have met with their parents.

They add that their personnel are with the women, who will now undergo an initial medical check-up.

Four hostages have been released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire deal.

In Tel Aviv, Israelis cried and cheered as they watched the events unfold on screens at Hostage Square.

You can watch a clip of the scene below.

Image source, IDF

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has shared a recording of the families of the four hostages reacting to a live stream showing the hostages being returned to the the IDF.

The footage shows family members laughing and clapping.

Nick Beake
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

Unlike last weekend’s chaotic hostage handover in Gaza, today events were highly choreographed by Hamas.

The four young women emerged from cars to be shepherded by masked gunmen onto the carefully set-up stage, where moments earlier a Red Cross official had signed documents with a Hamas fighter.

The hostages were seen to be wearing lanyards round their necks holding laminated ID badges – as were the masked gunmen standing next to them, each with their own sort of accreditation for the event.

Next to the platform with its desk, chairs and flags there was a machine gun. A display of bureaucracy and bullets for the cameras.

With hundreds of Hamas fighters and Palestinians civilians looking at them, the four Israeli women were seen to be smiling, holding hands and waving. Who knows what they were really thinking in this caldron of emotion as their 15 months anguish was finally coming to an end.

Hamas – which had given each of the women documents and a bag of items to take with them – hopes these calibrated images projects order as well as strength. The intended recipients of the message will surely be Palestinians hoping to run Gaza one day, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had vowed to destroy the group in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks.

For Israelis, there is huge relief that another four hostages are safe. Last week, many felt fury that the first three women released were unceremoniously bunded away.

Today, with wildly contrasting scenes, there will also be anger – but this time at the public parading of the women in their final moments before being given their freedom.

Shortly after the IDF press briefing, the army's Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, posted more details about the hostages.

"They are heroines in every sense of the word," he writes. "They stood bravely in front of a group of terrorists, holding their heads high with pride.

"Despite all the tragedies and difficult circumstances they went through, they remained strong, steadfast, and did not break.

"Even in the most difficult moments, they raised their hands as if to say with confidence: 'We are here, we are big.' These women are a symbol of determination and strength, facing challenges with pride."

Hagari says Hamas failed to meet its obligation under the ceasefire agreement to prioritise the release of civilians first.

Israeli female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehud, was expected to be named as one of the hostages released today.

Hagari says they are determined to secure the return of every Israeli citizen who was kidnapped.

He adds that Israel appreciates and thanks the efforts of all international mediators, including the US, Qatar, and Egypt, and expects them to ensure Hamas abides by the agreement.

Israel's mission, Hagari says, is not over until every single hostage is brought home.

He then concludes his English statement, briefly taking questions in Hebrew before exiting the briefing room.

We're hearing now from IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari

He begins the briefing speaking in Hebrew, then repeats some of the statement in English.

He says that the mission since 7 October has always been to bring home the hostages, and then names the four soldiers who are being reunited with their families today.

But, he says that Israel "cannot and will not forget" the "90 hostages" who remain in Gaza.

Image source, IDF

Image source, IDF

The four hostages released earlier by Palestinian authorities have arrived back in Israel, the IDF confirms.

"The four returning soldiers, Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev, have now crossed the border into Israeli territory with IDF and Shin Bet forces," the IDF writes on X.

"The returnees, accompanied by IDF and Shin Bet forces, recently crossed the border into the territory of the State of Israel and are now on their way to the initial absorption point in the Gaza Strip, where they will meet with their parents."

Our correspondent Alice Cuddy reports that a large cheer rose up in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv when the prisoners were announced to have returned to Israel.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari will provide an update at 11:55 local time (09:55 GMT).

We’ll bring you key points from that statement shortly.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Tel Aviv

At Hostage Square, Gili Roman is among those gathered to watch the return of the four women.

His sister Yarden was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri and returned to Israel in the November 2023 ceasefire.

He says for families, the return feels like a "second where your life is turned upside down again, but this time it's up".

"You have this feeling of people being between life and death, and this feeling of helplessness and uncertainty and then in one second you see them in Israeli arms," he says.

"It's not enough to see them being transferred to the Red Cross. They need to be in Israeli hands. It's nerve wracking. But after that it's the most powerful experience one can experience positively."

He says he can "feel the excitement and relief" of the four women's families.

"It's like you get back your breath again - only when you get it back do you understand how much you lost it, how much you were breathing differently."

Asked about what advice he would give to loved ones of the women returning today he says: "First of all, be patient. Listen. Give them the time to understand how they want to navigate it."

"The sense of control is so important - they need to make every single choice."

"For the families, I really advise that they try to look at their loved ones not only through the lens of all the worries and to see them with all the difficulties and horror they experienced but also to try to reflect to them the people that they were, the people that they are. Because they are not just hostages....they are also the people that you love and you know so well," he adds.

As we mentioned in the post below, the four hostages were handed over to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

They will then be taken to designated locations in Re'im, Israel, before being transported by vehicle or helicopter to hospital to undergo further medical checks.

Five hospitals in central Israel and two in the south, closer to the Gaza Strip have been prepared to received the released hostages. The southern hospitals are expected to be used should any of them need urgent medical care.

We've just had confirmation that hostages have been transferred to the Israeli military by the Red Cross.

In a statement on X, the IDF says:

"The four returning hostages are currently being accompanied by IDF special forces and ISA forces on their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment.

"The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the returning hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel.

"The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit asks everyone to respect the privacy of the returning hostages and their families."

According to Israel's public broadcaster Kann, they will be travelling with fighters from a special Israeli military unit to a facility in Re'im.

During the handover, the four Israeli soldiers were escorted by Hamas to a staged handover in Palestine Square, before they were taken into Red Cross vehicles.

They smiled and waved at crowds of Palestinian civilians and gunmen bearing Hamas flags and bandanas, before exiting the stage.

The Israel Defense Forces have confirmed the four hostages are with the Red Cross and will be transferred to them shortly.

"The Red Cross organisation reported that four Israeli hostages were transferred to their custody, and they are making their way to the IDF and Shin Bet forces in the Gaza Strip," the IDF says in a post on X.

We are seeing reports in local media that the hostages' families are waiting at the Gaza border to welcome them back.

Once at the border, where a helicopter is waiting, we expect the hostages to be transported back to Israel by the country's air force.