Lucy Williamson
Reporting from the West Bank

The bus inched its way through a sea of jubilant Palestinian supporters. Through the windows, some of the prisoners could be seen dancing, one wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

Outside, mobile phones were raised to the glass, amid ululations and shouts of welcome and "God is great".

A few in the crowd waved Hamas flags but others spoke of Palestinian unity tonight, of a small moment of victory for Palestinians in the midst of a gruelling war.

For Israel, the prisoners released tonight are a security threat. For the Palestinians gathered here to greet them, they are victims of Israel’s occupation - and their release is a symbol.

A senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister, speaking to the BBC, has described the release of hostages as "bittersweet".

Mark Regev says he is "very happy" for the released hostages, but a "vast majority" are still in Gaza under the control of Hamas.

He adds that Israel is "willing" to extend the four-day ceasefire if more hostages are released, but the country will ultimately resume its military operation in Gaza.

Regev goes on to say he believes the reason Hamas has released the hostages is "because they're under military pressure".

"We have acted in a way that has brought around the release of our hostages."

Lucy Manning
Special Correspondent

Image source, Hostages and Missing families forum

One of the women who has just been released is 79-year-old Channah Peri.

I spoke to her British-Israeli daughter Ayelet Svatitzky last month. She said she was “worried sick” about the health of her diabetic mother who didn’t have her medication with her.

She said that her mother and brother Nadav had been kidnapped from their home at Kibbutz Nirim and the gunmen sent photos from her mum’s phone showing the pair held hostage with the word "Hamas" written underneath. Hours later a third picture was posted on her mum’s Facebook show them with an armed Hamas gunman in the corner.

But the reunion will be bittersweet. Channah Peri’s other son Roi, 54, a British-Israeli was murdered on 7 October. And her other son, Nadav Popplewell, 51, also British-Israeli, is still held hostage. It is the terrible reality many of the freed hostages are facing.

The family had originally come to Israel from Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The Palestinian detainees have been released across the Beitunia checkpoint in the West Bank, near Ramallah.

Israeli officials have published a list of 39 Palestinians who were released.

The office of the Israeli Prime Minister has issued a statement to confirm the names of the hostages that have been released by Hamas. It says: "The Israeli government embraces our citizens returning home."

"The Israeli government is committed to the return of all abductees and missing persons.

"Our citizens underwent an initial medical examination and their families were informed by the appointed officials that they were back.

"In addition, 11 foreign citizens were released."

This is the list of the Israeli citizens published with the statement:

Asher family: Doron Katz Asher (34 years old), Raz Asher (age four) and Aviv Asher (two years old)

Aloni family: Daniele Aloni (45 years old) and Emilia Aloni (age six)

Munder family: Ruth Munder (age 78), Keren Munder (54 years old) and Ohad Munder (age nine).

Adina Moshe (age 72) - Hanna Katzir (age 76) - Margalit Mozes (age 77) - Channah Peri (age 79) - Yafa Adar (85 years old)

We've just seen two buses leave Israel's Ofer prison in the West Bank, accompanied by a police escort.

It is not entirely clear if released Palestinians are on board, but people due to be released were transferred to Ofer today ahead of the deal.

Image source, AFP

Image source, Hostages and Missing Families Forum

Daniele Aloni and her six-year-old daughter Emilia have also been released as part of the Israel-Hamas deal.

They were kidnapped on 7 October during a visit to stay with family in kibbutz Nir Oz.

During the attacks, the last message Daniele sent to her family said that "there were terrorists in their house" and she was afraid that they would not survive.

Lucy Williamson
Reporting from the West Bank

A big crowd has gathered around the Red Cross vehicle at the Beitunia checkpoint in the West Bank, where 39 Palestinians freed from Israeli prison are set to be released.

We are hearing the release of the Palestinian prisoners has been delayed due to scuffles between some Palestinian men and Israeli forces.

The crowd around the car are chanting "where are the prisoners, where are the prisoners?"

We are now getting confirmation of the names of some of the hostages who have been released as part of the Israel-Hamas deal.

One of them is Margalit Moses, 78 years old. A cancer survivor, she was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas on 7 October. She is described as a nature lover, who loves to hike, despite health problems

The group that has been speaking on behalf of many hostages and their families says Margalit is known for constantly knitting vests and sweaters for her grandchildren.

Image source, Hostages and Missing Families Forum

Adina Moshe, 72 years old. Adina was kidnapped to Gaza on 7 October from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, after Hamas murdered her husband Sa'id Moshe. She identified by her family in a video clip showing her wedged between two Hamas fighters on a motorbike.

She has four children: Maya, Yael, Sasson, and Amos.

"She will be able to resume helping raising her grandchildren living in the kibbutz and return to her hobbies: cooking, growing plants, and reading books," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says.

Image source, Hostages and Missing Families Forum

As the hostages passed through the Rafah crossing, they were taken to an Egyptian hospital for medical assessments.

In this video - taken by the Egyptian TV channel Al Qahera - an elderly woman can be seen being helped into the hospital by several people wearing medical face masks.

As we've reported, the hostages are now with Israeli forces inside Israel and are being transported to hospitals there.

More from the IDF now, who say that Israeli special forces and security services are currently with the released hostages inside Israel.

The update says the hostages have undergone an initial medical assessment and will now be transported to hospitals in Israel to be reunited with their families.

"The IDF, together with the entire Israeli security establishment, will continue operating until all the hostages are returned home," the statement says.

The hostages are inside Israeli territory, the Israel Defence Forces has confirmed.

The jeeps carrying the hostages can be seen surrounded by people as they approached the Rafah crossing into Egypt.

In the video, people can be seen running alongside the vehicles with their phones out, while others cheered.

The head of Israel's ambulance service has been informed that the hostages freed today appear to be healthy, Israeli army radio reports.

Eli Bin says he was told this in a conversation with the head of the Red Cross delegation, which also confirmed 13 of the hostages were Israeli and 11 were foreign nationals.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Jerusalem

Now it’s confirmed the 13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas are safely in Egypt, the next part of the agreement is immediately triggered

Israel has a two-hour window to release 39 Palestinian prisoners - Qatar is now saying this release has happened; we’re waiting for confirmation on that.

Those Palestinian women and teenage boys were transferred earlier today from two jails in northern Israel to a military courts complex in the occupied West Bank.

Once the Palestinian side is satisfied that their release has taken place, the deal remains on track. Around the same time as today’s release of hostages in Gaza, it’s thought that Hamas was also due to hand the list of the next group of hostages it will release tomorrow.

Qatar has said it has an “operations room” in Doha co-ordinating messages and making sure the releases in Gaza take place in a “safe” environment. So as today’s hostages are transferred to hospitals to be reunited with their loved ones, the whole process starts again ahead of another set of releases expected tomorrow.

With many moving parts, lots can still go wrong.

This is all about the sides verifying what has been agreed, before honouring their next set of commitments under the deal. And at the same time, a very delicate temporary ceasefire needs to stay in place for four days, or potentially even longer.

Image source, Reuters

Al Qahera TV channel in Egypt, broadcast on Israeli TV, is showing hostages walking out of ambulances.

An elderly woman is shown being led into the hospital building, accompanied by men wearing medical face masks.

The wide shot of the live stream shows several ambulances with lights flashing lined up outside a hospital in Rafah.

This is the moment jeeps carrying the hostages released from Gaza were taken into Egypt.

The Red Cross has confirmed 24 hostages have been released. They were accompanied from Gaza by eight ICRC staff and a doctor.

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, the Red Cross says 24 hostages have been released from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip today.

In a post on X, external, a spokesperson for the Qatari ministry of foreign affairs says the group comprised 13 Israeli citizens, 10 Thais and one citizen of the Philippines.

Qatar has mediated the deal between Israel and Hamas.

Earlier Thailand's prime minister said 12 Thai nationals had been released by Hamas.

The Red Cross has just confirmed that 24 hostages have been released. In a post on X, they said: "We are relieved to confirm the safe release of 24 hostages.

"We have facilitated this release by transporting them from Gaza to the Rafah border, marking the real-life impact of our role as a neutral intermediary between the parties."

Orla Guerin
Reporting from Jerusalem

An Israeli security source tells me the hostages are now in the hands of Israeli security services after crossing into Egypt.