Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) already has a team inside Gaza, specifically to assist with the hostage releases. Today they will be given details of where exactly in Gaza they should pick them up from Hamas. It could be one meeting point for all 13 hostages expected to be freed today, or it could be several.

The operation is complex, and could not happen without the ceasefire, and without both sides trusting the neutrality of the ICRC. Once the Red Cross has the hostages safely on board, they will be taken to the border with Egypt, and handed over to Israeli forces.

Around the same time, another ICRC team in Israel will check the health of the Palestinian prisoners Israel has agreed to release, and confirm they actually want to be sent home.

It’s work the Red Cross has long experience of.

In April it facilitated the exchange of 900 prisoners of war in Yemen.

It doesn’t negotiate such releases, but it will be the neutral body to carry out what the warring parties have agreed – in this case freeing the hostages.

As the four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas took hold earlier, displaced Palestinians have been moving around the Gaza Strip and attempting to return to their homes.

In the south of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces has dropped leaflets advising people against heading north, saying "the humanitarian pause is temporary, and the northern region of Gaza is a war zone".

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Some Israeli military tanks and armoured vehicles have been seen leaving northern Gaza earlier, as the four-day pause in fighting takes hold.

In footage of the departures shared by Reuters, many of the soldiers were seen smiling or holding the Israeli flag, while others gave a thumbs-up or raised their fists.

It's not clear if this was part of a rotation of Israeli troops.

The Israel Defense Forces says north Gaza remains an active warzone.

The World Health Organization said on Friday that it was working on further evacuations from northern Gaza hospitals as soon as possible

A spokesperson said they were “extremely concerned about the safety of the estimated 100 patients and health workers remaining at al-Shifa”.

Dr Mohamed Ghoneim, who spoke to the BBC earlier today, was working at al-Shifa Hospital until a few days ago.

He has tried to check in with his patients and colleagues at the hospital to find out whether they have been able to evacuate but has not been able to reach them so far.

The Israel Defense Forces says preparations for the reception of hostages have been completed.

In an update on social media, the IDF says several locations have been made ready for their transfer, including medical support.

After the reception and any initial medical treatment, the hostages will be transferred to hospitals elsewhere in Israel to be reunited with their families.

The IDF also posts pictures of the preparations, including images of a play area set up for children, bags of what looks to be medical or other humanitarian supplies and a military helicopter to carry the hostages.

Image source, Israel Defense Forces

Image source, Israel Defense Forces

At least 60 aid lorries have entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt as part of the four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Israel has said eight of the lorries are bringing in fuel, part of 130,000 litres which will be to be delivered each day.

Earlier this week, the UN's World Food Programme said, external around 2.2 million people in Gaza - effectively the Strip's entire population - needed urgent assistance as "existing food systems were collapsing".

Image source, Reuters

We're now just over six hours into an expected four-day temporary pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas. Here’s what has been happening so far:

• At 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT), the Qatar-brokered deal between the two sides came into force

• At the heart of this deal is the release of hostages. If all goes to plan at 16:00 local time, the release of the first group of hostages - expected to be 13 women and children - will be brought back from Gaza
• This truce is supposed to last for a further three days
• Palestinians displaced from the northern Gaza Strip have been warned by the Israel Defense Forces not to attempt to return home
• There have already been reports of Palestinians being shot at as they tried to move north

• As part of the deal, 200 lorries carrying medical aid, food and water are also supposed to cross into Gaza every day
• Humanitarian supplies began to arrive earlier this morning but aid agency Oxfam was quick to point out that it would not be "nearly enough"

Lucy Williamson
Reporting from the West Bank

Large banners hang on the walls of Ofer prison complex in the occupied West Bank – the words “United we will succeed!” picked out in large blue and white letters, alongside the Israeli flag.

Later today, 39 Palestinian prisoners are due to arrive here, released from Israeli jails in exchange for 13 hostages held by Hamas.

They will be chosen from a list of 300 women and minors compiled by Israel, accused of a range of offences, from throwing stones to attempted murder.

Less than a quarter of those on the list have been convicted – the vast majority are being held on remand while awaiting trial. Most of those listed are teenage boys – 40% of them under the age of 18. There is also one teenage girl and 32 women.

Families of the 39 prisoners due for release today will gather later at a nearby checkpoint to receive them.

Human rights organisations say the number of Palestinians held without charge in Israeli jails has shot up since the 7 October attacks.

There are now thought to be more than 6,000 Palestinians held by Israel on security grounds – many still awaiting trial.

Almost every Palestinian family in the West Bank is thought to have had a relative detained by Israel at some point in the past – often in jails inside Israel, making it difficult or impossible for their relatives to visit.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that at least seven people have been injured after being shot while attempting to head into north Gaza.

Eyewitnesses in the Wadi Gaza area say Israeli troops targeted people trying to return home, according to Wafa.

Israel has previously said it would not allow people to return to north Gaza during the pause in fighting, as it says the area is still an active warzone.

The Israeli military says it is looking into the reports.

Yolande Knell
Reporting from Jerusalem

There are a number of videos circulating on social media that appear to show Palestinians being shot at as they try to head from the south of Gaza to the north of the strip.

In some there are large crowds running from bursts of gunfire. At least one man is reported to have been shot dead and several others seriously wounded.

The Israeli military has said it is looking into the reports and will get back to me shortly.

The IDF has said Palestinians will not be allowed to move from south to north Gaza during the truce.

Anna Foster
Reporting from southern Israel

Things are quieter than they have been for weeks here in southern Israel and we can say at this point that the ceasefire is firmly holding from what we are seeing and hearing in southern Israel.

That is having a huge effect on the civilians inside Gaza. We are hearing that the first public Friday prayers since the war began on 7 October are due to be held at an open football stadium in Khan Younis.

We also know that Israel Defense Forces have been dropping leaflets this morning warning civilians inside Gaza not to move north, because now that we have this unusual quiet, we know that many of them are going to use that opportunity, and already have, to start to go home to perhaps gather some possessions and to see in some cases if their homes are still standing at all.

The IDF have said to them that they need to stay in the southern part of the Gaza strip. They reiterate that the northern part is still a warzone and they telling people who live there not to use this pause in fighting to go back.

Wyre Davies
Reporting from Lebanon

There is absolutely no guarantee that any cessation in hostilities will extend to the Israeli Lebanese border.

Neither Hezbollah nor Israel in the north are party to the cessation in hostilities in and around Gaza and there is no mechanism actually for talks between Hezbollah and the Israelis.

I've been speaking to the United Nations on the border who patrol and try to keep the peace along the so-called blue line.

They have a hope, but not an expectation that what is happening in Gaza may be temporarily replicated on that very fragile border between Israel and Lebanon.

There’s been clashes and fighting on and around that border ever since 8 October, in direct response to what happened in and around Gaza.

The one thing about the present clashes is that they have been taking place five or six kilometres either side of the border, right along the border. And the big fear, according to the UN, is that this conflict will explode much deeper into both countries.

Sharone Lifschitz's mother was freed after being taken hostage by Hamas but her father Oded is still being held.

She spoke to BBC Breakfast about the pain and suffering being felt by those caught up in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Read more about Sharone's story here.

Yolande Knell
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

Despite all of the efforts, there are so many possible hitches along the way.

First of all, as we’ve been taking note, the fighting didn’t stop at exactly 07:00 in Gaza, in fact there was very intense fighting in the run-up to this deadline.

Now we also have to see what happens on the ground, because Israel has been very strict that it doesn’t want to see people who have relocated to the south, in accordance with its orders, start to return to their homes in the north.

This is despite the fact that there is a natural desire for many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to try to retrieve some of their belongings, to see if their homes are still standing and what else they can recover from the rubble.

Some people want to be able to bury their dead.

But movements are being very strictly controlled inside the Gaza Strip, and it remains to be seen how Israeli forces will maintain that on the ground if they are challenged.

Save the Children says the issue of children being held in Israeli prisons is a longstanding human rights concern.

James Denselow was speaking on Radio 4's Today programme.

As we've been reporting, 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails will be released as part of the agreement between Israel and Hamas.

On Wednesday morning the Israeli justice ministry published a list of the names of 300 prisoners eligible for release as part of the deal - the list comprises 123 boys aged between 14 and 17, one 15-year-old girl, 144 18-year-old men, and 32 women aged between 18 and 59. Most are remanded in custody while awaiting trial on charges that range from stone-throwing to attempted murder.

Read more about the Israel-Hamas deal here.

Yolande Knell
Reporting from Jerusalem

This truce is supposed to happen according to a strict plan - and not just today.

What has been set up here is very ambitious. It is supposed to last for another three days as well, that’s quite a long time for this truce to stick.

Then of course there is built-into this plan a possibility for an extension, so that for every 10 additional hostages who are released - from a total of more than 200 - Israel has said it will allow an additional day of pause in the fighting.

Yolande Knell
Reporting from Jerusalem

It would be very difficult for Israeli forces not to intervene if anything happened during the truce.

If they were be able to trace, for example, the location of one of the most sought-after Hamas leaders, would they be able to resist holding back?

There’s many things that could go wrong here.

Likewise for Hamas fighters and the other armed factions that operate in the Gaza Strip, there are still Israeli ground forces present there.

This is really a very dangerous moment.

Everything has to stick for this whole plan to unfold in the way that it’s expected, and things really have to go well today so we can see this repeated for three further days.

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

It's been an absolute rollercoaster for the families of the hostages and also for Palestinians waiting for the release of three times as many people from Israeli jails.

Day one though and so far all is going to plan and so it should be that at 14:00 GMT, 13 Israeli hostages will come out, be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and pass into Egypt for medical checks before being taken back to Israel to be reunited with their families.

Once they are in Israeli hands, Israel will release 39 Palestinian prisoners and then the same process should be repeated over the next three days.

After that, there is the possibility of a further extension of the pause in fighting - provided Hamas releases 10 more hostages a day.

Yesterday there was confusion over the numbers and the lists which didn't tally but now, so far so good.

Image source, Getty Images

A significant increase in aid is being allowed into Gaza as part of the ceasefire brokered by Qatar.

The World Food Programme says it has more than 100 trucks ready to deliver food.

Egypt has said 130,000 litres of diesel and four lorry-loads of gas will be delivered daily.

But Laila Barhoum from Oxfam told BBC News the proposed number of aid deliveries would not match the level of need.

"The whole population of Gaza, two million, are aid-dependent and what will be happening is for four days we will have around 200 trucks of humanitarian assistance getting inside and the fuel and also some gas... it is not even nearly enough", she says.

Yolande Knell
Reporting from Jerusalem

After that shaky start things are steadying off in regards to the truce.

We are getting a picture of more aid going in to the Gaza Strip, there is this period of safe passage that’s been allowed for Palestinians and people are moving around increasingly on the ground.

What we are waiting for is 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT), that is when we understand that the first 13 of 50 Israeli hostages are going to be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

They will be brought out through Egypt’s Rafah crossing and then there is a whole protocol for what happens.

On the Egyptian side of the crossing they will meet Israeli security forces, they have to have identities checked, they’ll undergo initial medical checks and then they will be taken to Israel by helicopter.

They’ll then be taken to hospital to have further medical checks, and will then be reunited with their families.

After that it will then be a couple of hours - according to the terms of the agreement – until the first Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails.