Israel Prison Service releases details on transferring Palestinian prisonerspublished at 07:25 Greenwich Mean Time
While we wait for the hostage release, we can bring you a bit more information about the 183 Palestinian prisoners expected to be released by Israel today.
The Israel Prison Service says it has received a list of prisoners that are expected to be released today but has not publicised the names on that list.
The prisoners will be taken to reception centres in the Ofer and Ktziot prisons, where they will be held until the Israeli hostages are released, the prison service says.
Some prisoners will then be driven to a release point in the occupied West Bank, with others taken to the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza.
As part of the ceasefire deal, Israel has agreed to release 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, including some who are detained without charge.
Tel Aviv getting ready for release of three Israeli menpublished at 07:14 Greenwich Mean Time
Alice Cuddy
reporting from Tel Aviv
Preparations are under way in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square as three men are set to be freed today and returned home to Israel.
It marks the fifth round of releases since a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into force last month. In exchange for the hostages’ return, Israel has been releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Each week, live news footage of the hostage returns is broadcast on a large screen in the square. Among the crowds expected to gather here today are relatives of some of those still held in Gaza.
We don’t know exactly what time the releases will happen, but reports in Israeli media say officials here expect that it could begin at around 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT).
In Gaza, armed and masked Hamas fighters have begun gathering by a stage in the central city of Deir al-Balah in preparation.
Family gets champagne ready for hostage releasepublished at 06:58 Greenwich Mean Time
Wyre Davies
Reporting from Tel Aviv
As we’ve been reporting, Eli Sharabi is one of the hostages expected to be released today.
At the house of Sharabi’s extended family in the eastern part of Tel Aviv, there’s a celebratory mood – his cousin Jackie is bringing out cakes and bottles of champagne to crack open as soon as his release is confirmed.
Like hundreds of other families around Israel, they’re huddled around the television, watching live pictures being transmitted from Gaza, hoping that their loved one will soon be handed over to the Red Cross representatives.
Many family members are wearing T-shirts with Eli’s picture and that of his brother Yossi. He was killed in Gaza after being abducted with Eli from Kibbutz Be’eri.
Eli’s British-born wife, Lianne, and their two daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were murdered in the 7 October attack.
Amid the understandable relief and happiness at Eli’s expected release, this is a bittersweet moment for the entire family.
Stages, crowds and buses: The chaos of prisoner and hostage releasespublished at 06:48 Greenwich Mean Time
Image source, Reuters
We’ve been reporting on the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners for a few weeks now, and there’s often a lot going on.
The hostage release has varied in its ceremony each time. Last week was calm and orderly, with crowds kept behind barriers.
They were sent on stage, signed some documents, and were handed to the Red Cross to escort them back to Israel.
But before that, some were paraded through the streets in Gaza, surrounded by large crowds. When Palestinian prisoners are taken from prison on coaches, they are usually mobbed by large crowds when they reach their destinations.
Last week, it took minutes just to get enough space at the bus door for people to begin departing. When they did, the released prisoners were held up on the shoulders of the crowd, and paraded around.
Image source, Getty Images
In pictures: Hamas fighters gather before hostage releasepublished at 06:37 Greenwich Mean Time
We’re starting to see some pictures now from Deir al-Balah in Gaza, where Hamas fighters are gathering ahead of the hostage release.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Preparations under way for hostage releasepublished at 06:33 Greenwich Mean Time
Live footage shows Hamas setting up a stage in preparation for the release of three male civilian hostages – Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami – in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
Israeli media, citing military sources, says the handover is expected to happen starting around 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT).
Cameras, banners and green Hamas flags have already been set up by white trucks, with a couple of rows of spectators cordoned off by a line of fighters.
How the hostages are brought home from Gazapublished at 06:20 Greenwich Mean Time
Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem
It begins with a phone call, with a location.
Once the details are received, a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross sets off in vehicles marked with the humanitarian organisation’s logo to pick up the hostages in Gaza.
The group, which acts as a neutral intermediary in the handover, then brings them to Israeli troops on the outskirts of Gaza.
Across the border in Israel, reception centres have been set up, where the released hostages meet with medical personnel and their families.
They are assigned a physician, a nurse and a social worker.
After receiving initial treatment at the reception point, the surviving hostages are transferred in a “specially adapted” helicopter to a hospital elsewhere in the country.
“We tell them… we will take a helicopter back home. And then, if you’re willing to, we’re going to start talking about what you have been through,” says Col Dr Avi Banov, deputy chief of the Israel Defense Forces medical corps.
What we know about the next hostages to be releasedpublished at 06:13 Greenwich Mean Time
Image source, Bring Them Home Now
Or Levy, Ohad ben Ami and Eli Sharabi have been named by Hamas’s armed wing as the three Israeli hostages due to be released
On Friday, Hamas released the names of the next hostages to be freed in Gaza today in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
They are male civilians Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and Or Levy, 34. Here’s what we know about them:
Eli Sharabi was taken from Kibbutz Beeri with his brother, Yossi, who has since been confirmed dead. Eli’s wife and two daughters were murdered in the attack.
Ohad Ben Ami was also taken from Kibbutz Beeri, along with his wife, Raz. She was later released by Hamas.
Or Levy fled the Nova festival with his wife Eynav, when gunmen attacked the event. Levy was taken hostage and Eynav’s body was found in a bomb shelter where the couple had been hiding.
Three Israeli hostages and 183 Palestinian prisoners due for releasepublished at 06:06 Greenwich Mean Time
Three more Israeli hostages and dozens of Palestinian prisoners are expected to be freed today, as part of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, which came into effect on 19 January.
Eli Sharabi, Ohad ben Ami and Or Levy were named as the hostages due for release on Friday. In return, Israel is expected to free 183 Palestinian prisoners from its detention.
Hostages have previously been paraded in front of crowds in Gaza – ranging from highly choreographed appearances to chaotic escorts through surging crowds.
Our writers in London and correspondents across the region will bring you the latest updates and analysis. Stay with us.