The Israeli military says the bodies of four more deceased hostages have been returned from Gaza
Formal identification of the hostages will now take place, the Israel Defense Forces says
It comes as Israel will reportedly not reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Wednesday and will reduce the flow of aid into the territory
Israeli media and Reuters news agency report the decision came after Hamas returned just four of 28 Israeli hostages' bodies on Monday
The IDF says it has identified the bodies of those four hostages - they are named as Guy Illouz, Bipin Joshi, Yossi Sharabi and Daniel Peretz
In Gaza, the Palestinian Civil Defence tells the BBC that seven people have been killed by Israeli fire in two separate incidents - Israel's military says it fired at people who had crossed the line where its troops have withdrawn to
An official involved with the operation tells Reuters news agency that the Red Cross has arrived at the first collection point in Gaza.
The ICRC says it will not provide footage of released hostages or detainees during the operations "out of respect for the dignity of those released and the condition they may be in, as well as issues linked to their safety".
A little earlier, the mother of Israeli hostage Nimrod Cohen sent us a video message while on her way to a meeting point to reunite with her son.
Here's what she told us:
Watch: Mother to hostage says she is 'so excited' to reunite with son
Tom Bennett
Reporting from Jerusalem
Image source, ReutersPeople have been gathering at the Re'im military base in southern Israel, where hostages will be reunited with their families
I’m here in Jerusalem where we’re monitoring the hostage and prisoner exchange process.
Here's how it works:
Image source, X/Magen David AdomMagen David Adom, Israel's emergency service, says that it's prepared to help out with providing medical support to the returning hostages.
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics have been deployed for the hostages' arrival and accompanying events, it says in a statement.
Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Tel Aviv
I’ve been receiving messages from Rotem Cooper, who is waiting for his father's body to be returned from Gaza today.
He tells me he woke up at 05:00 to head to the Re'im military base in southern Israel with other hostage families.
"It's very emotional and moving," he says in a brief voicenote. Helicopters can be heard in the background.
In a separate message, he says “anticipation is building” as the return nears and more people arrive at the base, including old childhood friends from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Rotem's parents were both kidnapped on 7 October 2023. His mother was freed weeks later, but his father was later killed in captivity.
The Hamas-run Prisoners Media Office has published on Telegram the names of the 1,718 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza who will be released in exchange for the hostages.
The Red Cross is on its way to a meeting point in northern Gaza, where several hostages will be transferred to them, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says on X.
The IDF also says that it's prepared to receive additional hostages who are to be transferred to the Red Cross later.
Image source, ReutersAn Israeli security official has confirmed that the first hostages will be released in fewer than 15 minutes.
"The IDF is preparing for the transfer and return of the hostages as part of the implementation of the agreement, in the coming morning hours, starting at 08:00 (06:00 BST) in the northern Gaza Strip," the official says.
"The times are subject to change, and updates will be provided as information becomes available."
The Israeli Air Force also posts on X that it has two helicopters ready to bring the hostages home.
Image source, ReutersA helicopter at the Re'im base in southern Israel, seen moments ago
A handwritten note from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu will be part of a kit given to the newly released hostages when they arrive back in Israel.
"On behalf of the entire people of Israel, welcome back!," the note - shared by the PM's office - reads.
"We have been waiting for you, we embrace you. Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu."
The kit also includes clothing, a laptop, a mobile phone and tablet.
Image source, Israeli Prime Minister's Spokesperson's Office
Image source, Israeli Prime Minister's Spokesperson's OfficeAlice Cuddy
Reporting from Tel Aviv
Image source, Getty ImagesI’ve just been speaking to Dina Chester-Freeman.
Sitting at the side of Hostages Square, holding an Israeli flag, she cries as she tells me what today means to her.
“I’ve been praying for a long time for my people to come home,” she says. “This is everything”.
She lives in Australia but has family in Israel and arrived here the day before Trump’s deal was approved.
While she doesn’t know any of the current or former hostages personally, she says they feel “like family” to her.
Nearby, a man says: "This is it. This is the day."
People in the square this morning are gathered in groups praying and cheering as they anticipate the hostages' return.
We're seeing images of a Red Cross vehicle in the Gaza Strip.
Under the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will help transport Israeli hostages from Gaza.
Image source, ReutersIt's just gone 07:30 in Tel Aviv (04:30 GMT), where crowds anticipating the return of the hostages from Gaza are growing.
Israeli media report that the hostages are expected to be freed in the next half hour.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, ReutersPalestinian news agency Shehab has just reported that Hamas has released the names of the 20 hostages who are set for release.
The names apparently match the list of 20 hostages who are believed to be still alive that we reported earlier:
Israeli media report that ministers in Israel’s government has approved several changes to the list of Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza in Israeli jails who will be released in exchange for the hostages held by Hamas.
Haaretz says those changes include the removal of one prisoner who had already been released and the addition of two prisoners who were not serving life sentences and were affiliated with Hamas.
Seven minors detained by Israeli forces in Gaza after the war began were removed from the list and replaced with two women, it adds.
Overall, 1,718 Palestinian prisoners and Gaza detainees are set to be released instead of the previously agreed figure of 1,722, it reports.
Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Tel Aviv
Image source, ReutersIt’s early morning here in Tel Aviv and the excitement is already building.
On my way to Hostages Square, I pass billboards with the messages "thank you President Trump" and "peace upon Israel". A man who passes me calls out in English: "Bring them home."
At Hostages Square, a crowd is already standing in front of the big screen, waiting for the news that the hostages are back in Israel.
Some people are wrapped in the US and Israeli flags, and others are carrying signs and wearing T-shirts with pictures of the hostages and messages for them.
"We're here for the hostages, their release and to celebrate them. Today all Israelis are together - it's not about left or right, it's about all being together to celebrate the hostages," Yarden, a teenager in the crowd, tells me.
Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Tel Aviv
Image source, Getty ImagesThrough the night, well-wishers - some carrying Israeli flags - have been waiting for news in Hostages Square.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, all 20 living hostages should now be released to the Red Cross. They’ll then be driven to a military base to reunite with their families, or, if needed, taken immediately to a hospital.
After the hostages are freed, Israel is set to release about 2,000 Palestinian detainees. They include 250 prisoners serving life sentences as well as about 1,700 seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge.
An Israeli official said that an international task force would start work to locate the remains of dead hostages who aren’t returned within 72 hours.
The past day has seen a promised surge in aid reaching devastated Gaza. The UN says that along with its partners, it's distributed hundreds of thousands of hot meals and bread.
Armed Hamas police have again been out on patrol with deadly shootouts reported with Palestinian gangs.
Image source, Getty ImagesIt's now 07:00 in Israel and Gaza (04:00 GMT) - five hours from the deadline for Hamas to release Israeli hostages under a ceasefire agreement.
If you are just joining us, here is what you need to know:
Image source, ReutersIran says it won't be attending a peace summit in Egypt as it refuses to "engage with counterparts" who attack its people, the country's foreign minister says.
In a post on X, Abbas Araghchi says Iran was invited to the summit in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, but neither he nor the Iranian president can "engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People and continue to threaten and sanction us".
Earlier this year in June, Israel launched attacks on Iranian missile storage and launch sites, prompting Iran to retaliate with missiles and drones towards central Israel. The US also conducted strikes against Tehran's nuclear programme.
"Having said that, Iran welcomes any initiative that ends Israel's Genocide in Gaza and ensures the expulsion of occupation forces," Abbas writes, referring to the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Iran is and remains "a vital force for peace in the region," he adds.
More reported details are just coming in on when the hostages will be released.
The handover is expected to begin at 08:00 (05:00 GMT) from the Netzarim corridor and continue at 10:00 (07:00 GMT) in Gaza's Khan Younis, Reuters reported, citing Israeli media.
Some families have been told to begin heading to the Re’im base on the Gaza border ahead of the expected release of their loved ones, Channel 12 news reports.
The releases will take place in two stages, according to the channel, starting with the release of some hostages from the central Gaza Strip at 08:00.
At 10:00, the remaining hostages who are still alive will be released from Khan Younis and urban refugee camps in central Gaza.
As we wait for news of the Israeli hostages due to be freed in the coming hours, this video shows crowds of Palestinians flocking to much-needed aid in the southern city of Khan Younis in Gaza.
Earlier, a spokesperson for the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that supplies of cooking gas entered the war-torn territory for the first time since March.
Other aid entering Gaza included flour, fruit and meat as well as medical equipment, the spokesperson added.
Gaza Palestinians crowd around trucks to grab aid in Khan Younis