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Patrick Jackson
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

It's 02:30 in Israel and Gaza, and 00:30 here in London, meaning it is now 55 days since Hamas crossed into Israel to devastate villages and seize hostages, and the Israeli military responded with a huge offensive.

A seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas is due to expire in the coming hours - it's not yet clear if it will be extended again.

Here's a look at the key developments of the past 24 hours:

Seventh hostage exchange

• Under the truce deal, eight more Israeli hostages - six women and two young siblings - were freed by Hamas while Israel released another 30 Palestinian prisoners

Blinken visits Israel

• US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Israel and the West Bank and urged Israel to take "more effective steps" to protect civilian lives in Gaza

Violence in the West Bank

• Three people were killed and several others injured when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in West Jerusalem. The perpetrators were killed at the scene by off-duty soldiers; Hamas claimed the attack

Image source, Reuters

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has deepened a diplomatic row with Israel after he said he had "serious doubts that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law".

His comments came days after he accused Israel of "indiscriminate killing of Palestinians" during its military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Israel condemned his latest remarks as outrageous.

For the second time in a week, Spain's ambassador to Israel was summoned for a rebuke.

"Israel is acting, and will continue to act, according to international law, and will continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is eliminated from Gaza," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen posted on X.

In response to what he called the latest "baseless accusations" by the Spanish leader, Mr Cohen said he had decided to recall Israel's ambassador to Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon, for consultations.

Full story

Matt Murphy
Live reporter, in Washington DC

A senior Israeli doctor has told the BBC that some of the youngest hostages released from captivity by Hamas in recent days looked like "shadows of children" upon their arrival at hospital.

Dr Efrat Bron-Harlev, head of the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Tel Aviv, said 26 of the 100 or so hostages released so far had been taken to recover at her hospital. She told the BBC that while many had since been released from medical care, their recovery was proving to be a "painful process" - especially for younger hostages.

"I would say that when they come, they don't really look like children, I would say they would look more like shadows of children, kind of hollow children, they have no impression on their face," Bron-Harlev observed. "Not sad, not happy, just no impression, they hardly speak, very, very quiet. If they do speak, it's very, very quiet."

"Some of them are having a hard time getting up from a chair, you know, like little like older people that need some help while they get up from a chair."

Their experience of captivity in Gaza varied, Bron-Harlev said, noting that some hostages were kept in one location, while others were frequently on the move. All reported living under "very strict conditions" in captivity.

"It takes them quite a while to really believe that they are no longer in a place that might hurt them, that they're in a safe place," she said. "I don't think that there is a lot of experience around the world of so many children and families being in captivity... for such a long time, either as individuals or as a group."

Thirty more Palestinian prisoners have been released by Israel, its prison service says, under the extended truce with Hamas.

More Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas on Thursday, the seventh day of the truce.

Names of the freed Palestinians have not yet been given.

There was no immediate confirmation of the prisoners' release by Hamas-affiliated media.

Image source, Reuters

In the last hour or so, six hostages have been released by Hamas and are back inside Israel. They are:

• Shani Goren, 29
• Nili Margalit, 41
• Ilana Gritzewsky, 30
• Sapir Cohen, 29
• Bilal Zyadna, 18
• Aisha Zyadna, 16

Earlier this afternoon, two others were also released:

• Mia Shem, 21
• Amit Soussana, 40

The Qatari foreign ministry confirmed today's overall tally of 10 hostages has been reached, because two Russian-Israeli dual-nationals released on Wednesday have been included in Thursday's count.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has released a statement welcoming the newly returned:

Anna Foster
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Zyadna family

When I met Naeema Zyadna yesterday, she couldn’t understand why her children Aisha, who’s 16, and 18 year old Bilal hadn’t been released yet. They’re among a small number of hostages taken from the Bedouin community in southern Israel.

As Arabic-speaking Muslims, the family hoped they’d be freed as soon as the truce deal got underway. But they weren’t.

Naeema described to me the agonising wait for news each day as new hostage lists were released, without her children’s names on them.

Tonight there’s joy and relief for the family. It’s been confirmed that both Aisha and Bilal have returned to Israel, after 55 days of waiting. They were among the final small group of children being held hostage inside Gaza.

But it’s a bittersweet moment for the family. Their father Yousef and older brother Hamza, who’s 22, are still being held captive. The whole community is still waiting for them to be released.

The latest statement from the Israeli security forces says the latest group of six released hostages are now back in Israeli territory, and are accompanied by special forces troops.

The statement says the group will next make their way to the Hatzerim Base for initial medical tests - before being reunited with their families.

Image source, Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum

Mexican citizen Ilana Gritzewsky is another of the hostages released tonight.

Gritzewsky, 30, immigrated to Israel at age 16, and had just returned from a visit to Mexico two weeks before the 7 October attacks.

She was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz along with her partner Matan Zanguaker who is still held captive by Hamas.

Image source, Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum

Another of the hostages freed tonight is Nili Margalit, a 41-year-old nurse who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

One in four residents of the kibbutz is believed to have been killed or kidnapped by Hamas, including many children.

Margalit's neighbour was Yocheved Lifschitz, one of the first two hostages to be released by Hamas.

Lifschitz said that she had recognised Margalit in captivity.

Two siblings, 18-year-old Bilal Zyadna and 16-year-old Aisha Zyadna are among the hostages freed tonight.

The pair, their older brother Hamza, and father Yousef were kidnapped from the family dairy farm in Kibbutz Holit on 7 October.

While they were held hostage, Hamas posted a photo of Hamza and Bilal stripped to the waist and on a floor, next to armed men.

Hamza and Yousef are believed to still be captive with Hamas.

The family is eagerly awaiting their return. You can read more about them here.

Image source, Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum

Here's some details about the two 29-year-old women released this evening by Hamas.

Shani Goren is an educator in Kibbutz Nir Oz. She is well known in the kibbutz as a comedian, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.

On 7 October, Hamas took Shani from her home in the kibbutz with her dog.

Sapir Cohen is a software engineer who takes in stray cats off the street. She is described by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum as someone who always helps anyone in need.

She was kidnapped on 7 October along with her partner Alexander Trupanov, who is still held captive by Hamas, and his mother and grandmother who were both released yesterday.

Image source, Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum

A social media post, external from the Qatari foreign ministry confirms that this evening's plan involves a total of eight hostages leaving Gaza.

It says today's expected overall tally of 10 hostages has now been reached, because two Russian-Israeli dual-nationals released on Wednesday have been included in Thursday's count.

The post continues by reiterating that 30 Palestinians will be released from Israeli prisons in today's swap.

A follow-up post, external from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says the latest group of six released hostages have left Gaza, and are in Egypt - on their way back to Israel.

We'll bring you more details on who has been released when we have it.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has just announced that six hostages are now in the care of the Red Cross and are on their way to Israel.

"According to the information provided by the Red Cross, six Israeli abductees were transferred to them and are on their way to Israel," the IDF posted to social media, external.

Two hostages were released earlier today, bringing the day's total to eight.

Thirty more Palestinian prisoners are set to be released from Israeli prisons in return.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

The US secretary of state has just delivered a powerful message to Israel about how to proceed from here.

Anthony Blinken said Benjamin Netanyahu had made it clear that Israel intends to resume its military operations, something that could happen within days.

But when it happens, Blinken said it could not be a repeat of the first, brutal weeks of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

First of all, he said, Israel had to put into place “humanitarian civilian protection plans” before going back to war, including “clearly and precisely designating” areas in central and southern Gaza where civilians can be “safe and out of the line of fire".

In other words, it simply won’t be enough for Israel to tell civilians to head for the tiny coastal area of al-Mawasi, as it has been insisting for weeks.

Then, Israel must avoid "further significant displacement of civilians". Washington doesn’t want to see tens of thousands of desperate civilians on the move. There must be no "enduring internal displacement".

Critical infrastructure – hospitals, power stations and water facilities – must not be damaged.

Taken together, these rules – and that’s what they felt like – amount to a real challenge to the Israeli government and military, which is intent on destroying Hamas once and for all and which knows that it remains embedded inside some of Gaza’s most populated areas, in particular the southern city of Khan Yunis.

Blinken drove home that challenge: Israel, he said, had "one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world". It was capable of neutralising Hamas while minimising harm to innocent civilians.

"And it has an obligation to do so," he said.

Israel, he said, had agreed with Washington’s approach. He spoke of “concrete steps”, but said it was not appropriate for him to discuss them.

Thanyarat Doksone
Reporting from Bangkok

As we wait for any more news of today's expected hostage release, here's some more on one of the Thais who was among those freed in recent days.

Kongpana Sudlamai, dad of Pornsawan Pinakalo, 30, who was freed after nearly 50 days held captive, said seeing his son gave him goosebumps - and the family has cooked him something "I know he'll love".

Sudlamai said he had started to lose hope five days into Hamas's attack on Israel after the authorities sent him pictures from the kibbutz Pornsawan was working in, where other workers were killed - but when his son's DNA wasn't among the samples collected from the dead, he was given hope.

“No parents would want their children to go back to that situation again, but it’s really up to him (whether to return to Israel,” the father told the BBC. More on the return of the 17 hostages here.

Image source, Reuters/Pool

Some updates now from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who's been talking to the media from Tel Aviv.

He said the immediate focus is to extend the ceasefire so more hostages could be released and further aid could be delivered to Gaza - but he also spoke of what could happen next.

Blinken said he made clear to Israel that before it starts its military operations it has to put in place protections for civilians - and the massive loss of civilian life in northern Gaza "cannot be repeated in the south".

He acknowledged the difficulty of Israel’s fight against Hamas, who he says "embeds" itself among civilians - but said Israel must take "more effective steps" to protect civilians' lives.

Blinken said Israel should designate spaces in southern and central Gaza where innocent civilians can shelter and be safe, and also mentioned that any attacks on infrastructure like hospitals had to be avoided.

"Intent matters, but so does the result," he said.

On Hamas, Blinken says the group “has choices too” and could release hostages immediately, and surrender those who led the 7 October attacks on Israel.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is about to hold a news conference in Tel Aviv, following a day of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials in Israel and the West Bank.

You can watch his comments by clicking play above - but we'll bring you the key lines shortly.

More now from White House security spokesman John Kirby, who was asked by a reporter if the deadly attack by gunmen at a bus stop in Jerusalem on Thursday morning was a breach of the temporary ceasefire.

Kirby says that attack happened in Jerusalem, and the pause in fighting was specific to Gaza.

"It didn't technically violate the deal that was in place," he says, but added "obviously it’s a stark reminder of who they (Israel) are facing and what kind of enemy they are opposing".