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It's just gone 02:00 in Israel and Gaza, and midnight in London. Here's a look at what's been going on over the last several hours.

Hostages released

• Israel says another group of hostages are now back in Israeli territory, having been released from Gaza this evening. Ten of them are Israeli citizens and two are Thai nationals

• A total of 81 hostages held in Gaza have now been released during a truce between Israel and Hamas. Sixty-one of them are Israeli, and nearly all of them are women and children
• The son of 75-year-old Ada Sagi - who was among those released tonight - told the BBC before her release that the anxious wait for news amounted to "psychological terror"
• Former Hamas hostages have been giving details of the conditions in which they were allegedly held - speaking of crowded underground hallways, meagre food and benches for beds

Prisoners released

• As part of its deal with Hamas, Israel has released 30 more Palestinian prisoners tonight - bringing the total to 180
• Qatar - a key mediator of the deal - said before their release that it expected half of the group to be women and the other half to be minors. A 14-year-old boy, told Al-Jazeera he had been warned not to leave his house or celebrate his freedom in case he was arrested again
• Those released have been chosen from a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners compiled by Israel, accused of a range of offenses from stone-throwing to incitement to attempted murder

Possibility of extended truce

• Tuesday was the fifth consecutive day during which Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners
• A spokesman for the Israeli government flagged that it would be open to an additional five days of truce under the current hostage-prisoner exchange agreement
• Gazans have been using the pause in fighting to search for loved ones. Hamas officials in Gaza say some 1,500 people are missing and 14,500 others have been killed during an Israeli military campaign
• Hamas crossed the border and killed 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October, with about 240 taken hostage

There's a good chance the ceasefire will be extended furtherpublished at 23:50 Greenwich Mean Time 28 November 2023

23:50 GMT 28 November 2023

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

Tuesday was the first of a two-day extension to a break in fighting that will run out in 24 hours’ time.

But there is a good chance, I think, that we will then see another 48-hour extension agreed by the two parties.

It’s clear that both sides seem to want that, as long as we have this process going more or less according to plan – with very little in the way of interruptions or challenges.

We don’t know the state of the negotiations that have been going on, but we know they’ve been going on. Efforts to keep this truce going will be intense.

But don’t forget that when this process is over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his troops are planning to continue their operations in Gaza with what he calls “full force”.

Adnan El-Bursh
Reporting from Deir al-Balah, Gaza

There are people for as far as the eye can see.

Deir al-Balah lies in central Gaza. It’s supposed to be a "safe" city compared with the devastated north, its population bursting with the displaced.

Hundreds are in the queue for cooking gas and some people say they have been waiting here three days, sleeping on the side of the street in the cold, in the hope of being able to cook something hot.

As the hundreds wait, some sitting on their gas cylinders, tempers fray.

"Where are all Arabs and Muslims?" a middle-aged woman shouts angrily as she waits in line for gas. "Where are all the defenders of human rights? You've left the Palestinian people to suffer, go hungry and be destroyed."

Desperation and frustration are visible in her face, despair lurking in the background. "We've been waiting in line to fill one gas cylinder since early morning," she says. "I performed my morning prayers while standing."

She tells me she was displaced from Beit Hanoun in the north, just 2km (1.2 miles) from the boundary with Israel. She's now living with her family in a UN school in the city of Deir al-Balah in the centre of Gaza.

"I can't describe the destruction," she says. "Entire families have been erased from civil records. They were killed under their houses. Gaza has been completely destroyed. Have mercy on us."

Image source, Handout

Over the last few hours, we've been endeavouring to keep you updated on what we know about the people released on both sides on day five of the truce between Israel and Hamas. Here's more information on one of the women who's now back in Israeli territory following her release from Gaza.

Tami Metzger, 78, was kidnapped from Nir Oz alongside her husband Yoram, 80, who remains in Hamas captivity. He has diabetes and broke his hip six months ago, according to Tami’s daughter-in-law.

Announcing she had been released, Liat Bell Sommer from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Metzger enjoys spending her time caring for her grandchildren.

She has limited mobility and spends much of her time on the balcony of her small home with her newspaper, crosswords and cigarettes, Sommer added.

Lucy Manning
Special correspondent

Noam Sagi has had a video call with his mum Ada, who was released earlier this evening.

“She looks good, she was very happy,” he tells me.

But he says there’s a lot she doesn’t know.

“She doesn’t know she doesn’t have a home to go back to, she doesn’t know so many of her friends were murdered."

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed that it's facilitated the release of 11 Palestinian detainees, who've now been transferred to the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The ICRC typically only announces the number of detainees for whom it's been directly responsible for helping to release, as the Reuters news agency observes. The ICRC statement also points out that it's a humanitarian organisation which doesn't take a role in negotiations.

Just to recap a few points regarding the Palestinians who've tonight been released from Israeli jails:

• We don't yet have a full list of confirmed names, although the Israeli prison service says 30 people have been released. Advocacy group Palestinian Prisoner Club earlier gave an advance list, external of 30 names of those it expected to be released
• Before the group's release, Qatar - a key mediator in the ongoing truce - said the group was going to comprise 15 women and 15 minors
• As we reported earlier today, it's mostly women and teenage boys who've been released during the Israel-Hamas truce so far
• They've been chosen from an original list of 300 Palestinians compiled by Israel - accused of a range of offences, from throwing stones to incitement to attempted murder
• Less than a quarter of those on the list had been convicted – the vast majority were being held on remand while awaiting trial

Image source, Handout

Clara Marman, 62, is also among the 10 Israelis released tonight. She's the sister of Gabriela Leimberg who's also just been freed, and who was mentioned in our post below.

Clara was one of a group of five Argentinian-Israelis who were kidnapped - including her partner, Louis Har, 70, and her brother, Fernando Simon Marman, 60. Both Louis and Fernando remain captive.

Clara has lived in Nir Yitzhak since 1982, according to a group representing hostages' families - and has two daughters and three grandchildren.

A retired kindergarten teacher, she continues to work with the elderly, and at-risk families providing parental guidance. She's apparently known within her community for her excellent desserts.

Image source, Israel Government Press Office

Also released from Gaza tonight were Gabriela Leimberg, 59, and her only daughter Mia, 17. The Israeli government has shared the above snap of them - saying it shows them holding their first phone call with relatives.

Gabriela emigrated to Israel from Argentina in the 1990s, and was among a group of Argentinian-Israelis who were hiding in their safe room when they were taken from Nir Yitzhak on 7 October.

Liat Bell Sommer, from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, has described her as “a woman with a huge heart who is always helpful”, and a “devoted” mother to Mia.

Mia is a student at an arts high school in Jerusalem, and has been called talented singer who works at a bookshop.

Israeli media are tonight showing a photo of Mia holding a Shih Tzu dog - assumed to be the family pet dog Bella who was kidnapped alongside them.

A 14-year-old Palestinian released from Israeli prison this evening has been quoted by Al-Jazeera, external as saying he witnessed beatings while incarcerated - and that he's been warned off leaving his home again in case he's re-arrested.

“The first day of the war there were a number of beatings, female inmates were beaten,” Ahmed Nawaf Niaz Salaima told the news outlet.

Al-Jazeera did not specify who carried out the alleged beatings, and the BBC is not able to independently verify the report. Israel has previously insisted that it treats prisoners lawfully.

“They told me no celebrations, and on the day of my release I’m not allowed to leave my house, raise any signs or banners, use a megaphone,” he said. “And if I break any of these rules I will be taken back.”

“We are very happy but our happiness is incomplete because we mourn those who are lost, those who are wounded and those who are missing,” he added, in an apparent reference to the situation in Gaza.

Image source, Handout

Also from Nir Oz and back in Israel after 53 days held hostage is Ophelia Roitman, 77.

The mother-of-three and grandmother-of-nine sent a message pleading for help as Hamas attacked Nir Oz. Her daughter said bodies had later been found in a search of her house but she was missing.

Roitman emigrated to Israel from Argentina in 1985, where she had spent many years as the principal at Jewish schools in Argentina.

She was on various communities in the kibbutz and described as a "noble and modest woman” by Liat Bell Sommer, from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Lucy Manning
Special correspondent

Image source, Reuters

I’ve just done a video call with Ada Sagi’s son Noam, as he waits in the hospital for his mum to arrive after she was freed tonight.

It’s the first time I’ve seen him smile in weeks.

He said: "It’s such a huge relief. I’ve just finished a video call with her.

"She’s sharp, she’s funny, she’s witty. She’s her own self. I’m over the moon... it really is a beautiful, amazing moment, it’s just crazy.

"I just want to feel her and hug her and I want her to know how hard we fought to get to this day and she will know forever how loved she is."

Image source, Handout

Meirav Tal, 53, and Noralin "Nataly" Babadila, 60, are also among the 10 Israeli women released by Hamas this evening.

Tal was visiting her partner Yair Yaakov in Kibbutz Nir Oz when they were kidnapped along with Yair's children Yagil and Or. The children were released yesterday, but Yair remains in Gaza.

Babadila - or Noralin Agojo in some reports - travelled to a friends home in Kibbutz Nirim on 7 October with her partner Gidon Babani to celebrate the community's 70th anniversary. Her partner was murdered in the attack.

Her younger brother, Exo, told the Bring Them Home website that her last words to him were: "I'm shaking; maybe I won't come home."

Babadilla is a keen gardener, Liat Bell Sommer from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, and has "a passion for life, friendships, trips, and dance".

Image source, Handout

Image source, Handout

More now on the hostages who have been released tonight.

The eldest of them is Ditza Heiman, 84, who is one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz and was seen by a neighbour being led away by Hamas gunmen during the attack, her niece said.

A former social worker, she is the widow of Zvi Shdaimah, who came to the UK on the Kindertransport, the organised rescue of children from Nazi-controlled areas during World War Two.

Described as the “bond that connects her family” by the group representing hostages' families, she is known for her chicken soup, cholent (a type of stew) and fruit cakes.

They described her as a beloved and loving grandmother and said she has lived alone since her husband died and has an adopted a cat named Mia.

As we've reported, the Red Cross and Israel has confirmed that the newly-released hostages have arrived into Israel.

Red Cross vehicles carrying some of the hostages are pictured here at the Rafah border crossing as they are transferred to Egypt on their way home.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

In the last few minutes the Israel Prison Service (IPS) has confirmed 30 Palestinians have been released under the truce deal.

The IPS stated all the prisoners were released from the Ofer prison in the West Bank and the Jerusalem Detention Center. They said they included 30 men and women.

Earlier, Qatar said the 30 included 15 women and 15 minors.

They join the 150 other Palestinians - mostly women and teenage boys - who have so far been released from Israeli jails since Friday as part of the truce.

They were chosen from an original list of 300 Palestinians compiled by Israel - accused of a range of offences, from throwing stones to incitement to attempted murder. Less than a quarter of those on the list had been convicted – the vast majority were being held on remand while awaiting trial.

Image source, Handout

We're starting to pull together some information on what we know about the group of Israeli women released tonight.

Among those freed is 36-year-old Rimon Kirsht, who was taken from her home in Kibbutz Nirim, alongside her husband Yagev, who is still being held in Gaza.

In late October she appeared in a video released by Hamas alongside two other women, one of whom was Daniele Aloni, who has since been released.

Kirsht is a rock music fan who also enjoys growing plants and practises alternative medicine and reflexology, according to Liat Bell Sommer, from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

"Rimon and her husband Yagev got married two years ago and lived in Kibbutz Nirim," they said. "They dedicated their lives to caring for animals – they have five dogs and five cats, most of whom endured abuse."

An update from the Israeli security forces has detailed what happens next to the released hostages - of whom 10 are Israeli and two are from Thailand.

The 12 are said to be currently accompanied by special forces, and will get an initial medical assessment - before being taken to hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families.

The statement says the Israeli military will continue its work to "bring home all the hostages".

Image source, Reuters

Shortly, we'll have more information about the Israelis who've been released tonight.

We also wanted to bring you the news that the Palestinian Prisoners Club has released a list of the 30 Palestinians who it says will be released from Israeli prisons this evening.

Like the Qatari foreign minister, the advocacy organisation reports that 15 of the group are women and the same number are children.

On the list is Marwat al-Azza, a freelance journalist who has previously worked with American broadcaster NBC. The network cut ties with al-Azza following her arrest relating to social media posts about the 7 October attack.

As we reported earlier today, 150 Palestinians - mostly women and teenage boys - have so far been released from Israeli jails since Friday as part of the truce.

They were chosen from an original list of 300 Palestinians compiled by Israel - accused of a range of offences, from throwing stones to incitement to attempted murder. Less than a quarter of those on the list had been convicted – the vast majority were being held on remand while awaiting trial.

Qatar - which was a key mediator in this deal - has confirmed 30 Palestinians are being released from Israeli prisons tonight. That's in exchange for the hostages released from Gaza, who you've been reading about below.

Foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari posted online a short time ago:, external "Update: Palestinians released from Israeli prisons include 15 minors and 15 women."