Thousands of Syrians are in limbo as the UK Home Office freezes asylum claims.
The Guardian’s Lizzie Dearden reports:
More than 6,000 Syrians in Britain are stuck in limbo because of an ongoing freeze on their asylum claims, two months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The Home Office announced a “pause” on Syrian asylum seekers’ claims on 9 December, the day after rebels swept into Damascus, saying that it needed to “assess the current situation”.
The situation remains deeply uncertain. Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, was recently named president, but his forces are still declared a terrorist group by the UK and other countries.
At least 6,600 Syrian asylum applications, each of which can include more than one person, are frozen in the UK system pending an initial decision and more claims are expected from those arriving on small boats, according to analysis by the Observer of official figures. Leading charities and lawyers have called for the government to resolve the situation.
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Palestinians are finding a moment of respite in going out to dinner or relaxing in cafes as the narrow strip decimated by Israeli forces seeks to rebuild.
The Guardian’s Malak A Tantesh and Jason Burke report:
It is a Thursday night in Khan Younis and business is good at the al-Sawafiri restaurant. Not far away, entire blocks have been reduced to rubble, but here, in this small corner of the city in the southern Gaza Strip, the damage is less extensive. Raed al-Sawafiri, the owner and manager, stands in front of chicken rotating on a grill and smiles. Every one of his plastic tables is occupied.
Al-Sawafiri had no experience of the restaurant trade until very recently. Displaced 10 times during the 16-month conflict in Gaza, the 23-year-old opened his first establishment in Rafah, the southernmost city in the territory, early this year, after sourcing old equipment and sending his father to the border with Egypt to buy meat.
“The response from people was amazing, but we had to flee the [Israeli] attack on Rafah and move to the coast. Finally, I decided to try again in Khan Younis and, thanks be to God, we have had success,” he said.
For the full story, click here:
The ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 12 more Israeli hostages during its first 42-day phase, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government on Friday to stick with the truce, even as US president Donald Trump’s comments raised questions about the future of the deal. “An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home,” the Israeli campaign group said in a statement. “Now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed – until the very last one,” it added.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that after Saturday’s swap, an Israeli delegation would head to Doha for further talks.
Three male Israeli hostages were released by Hamas after 491 days of captivity in Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel.
Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami appeared emaciated and were taken to hospital upon arrival in Israel. In exchange for the three hostages, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
An official from Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in Somalia, has rejected a report by the Telegraph that suggested his state would welcome an Israeli plan to send Palestinians from Gaza there and was prepared to host them.
On Thursday, the Telegraph reported that Israel was considering sending Palestinians from Gaza to Puntland, suggesting that the proposal had been welcomed by an official from the state. The report comes after US president Donald Trump put forward a proposal saying he wanted the US to occupy, ethnically cleanse, and develop the territory for commercial purposes.
Amit Segal, an Israeli journalist writing for Channel 12, also stated that Trump was considering Morocco, Puntland, and Somaliland – a self-declared republic in northern Somalia – as potential places for people from Gaza.
The Telegraph quoted Yacob Mohamed Abdalla, Puntland’s deputy information minister, as saying that authorities in Puntland would be open to the idea, provided the Palestinians moved voluntarily. “There is no reason to deport someone from their country to another without that person choosing to move,” Abdalla was quoted as saying.
However, in a social media post on Friday, Abdalla claimed his views had been “misrepresented” in the interview. He added that he had never said Puntland was “prepared to host Palestinian refugees” and “categorically” rejected the claims made in the article. “PLand stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people’s just aspirations in line with ILow,” he said.
Summary of the day's events so far
Israel and Hamas completed their fifth hostage-prisoner swap under a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal on Saturday, with the frail, disoriented appearance of the three freed Israelis causing dismay among their relatives, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Out of the 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees released by Israel in return, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said seven required hospitalisation, decrying “brutality” and mistreatment in jail.
Hamas in a statement accused Israel of “systematic assaults and mistreatment of our prisoners”, calling it “part of the policy of … the slow killing of prisoners”.
The fifth exchange since the truce took effect last month comes as negotiations are set to begin on the next phase of the ceasefire, which should pave the way for a permanent end to the war.
Saturday’s swap also follows remarks by US president Donald Trump suggesting the US should take over the Gaza Strip and clear out its inhabitants, sparking global outrage.
Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, who were all seized by militants during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, “crossed the border into Israeli territory” on Saturday, the Israeli military said. With their return, 73 out of 251 hostages taken during the attack now remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Jubilant crowds in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv cheered as they watched live footage of the three hostages, flanked by masked gunmen, brought on stage in Deir al-Balah before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). But the joy at their release was quickly overtaken by concern for their condition, with all three appearing thin and pale.
Sharabi’s cousin Yochi Sardinayof said “he doesn’t look well”. “I’m sure he will now receive the right treatment and he will get stronger … He has an amazing family, and we will all be there for him.”
The choreographed handover included forced statements from the three on stage, in which they stated support for finalising the next phases of the Israel-Hamas truce. The “disturbing images” from Gaza show that “we must get them all out”, said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group.
The office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose dejected-looking portrait appeared on a banner at the Deir al-Balah handover site, said the images out of Gaza were “shocking”.
Israel’s president Isaac Herzog denounced the treatment of the hostages, who were paraded on stage “after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained” and “exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle”.
The ICRC, which is facilitating ongoing hostage-prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas under the Gaza ceasefire deal, called on Saturday for future swaps to be held in “private”.
“The ICRC is increasingly concerned about the conditions surrounding release operations. We strongly urge all parties, including the mediators, to take responsibility to ensure that future releases are dignified and private,” the ICRC said in a statement after it completed the fifth exchange.
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Israel prison authorities confirm 183 Palestinian prisoners freed on Saturday
Israel’s Prison Service confirmed it had released 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees on Saturday during the fifth exchange of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
It said in a statement that “183 terrorists were transferred from several prisons across the country”, before they “were released” to the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
In the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, relatives and supporters gathered to welcome those released by Israel, embracing them and cheering as they stepped off the bus that brought them from nearby Ofer prison.
Out of the 183 Palestinians released by Israel on Satuday, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said seven required hospitalisation, decrying “brutality” and mistreatment in jail.
Hamas in a statement accused Israel of “systematic assaults and mistreatment of our prisoners”, calling it “part of the policy of … the slow killing of prisoners”.
Updated
Red Cross calls for next hostage-prisoner swap to be held in 'private'
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is facilitating ongoing hostage-prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas under the Gaza ceasefire deal, called on Saturday for future swaps to be held in “private”.
“The ICRC is increasingly concerned about the conditions surrounding release operations. We strongly urge all parties, including the mediators, to take responsibility to ensure that future releases are dignified and private,” the ICRC said in a statement after it completed the fifth exchange earlier on Saturday, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
At least 48,181 Palestinians killed in war with Israel, says Gaza health ministry
The Gaza health ministry said on Saturday that at least 48,181 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory in the war with Israel, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hamas and Israel have agreed a ceasefire, which came into effect on 19 January and ushered in a fragile calm. But the confirmed number of dead published by the Gaza health ministry has continued to rise daily as bodies are discovered under the rubble, victims are identified or people die from injuries sustained earlier in the war.
Over the last 48 hours, 26 deaths have been recorded and more than 570 earlier deaths had been confirmed, according to the ministry. It said a total of 111,638 people have been injured during the war, which began in October 2023. The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians
Israel has repeatedly cast doubt on the ministry’s figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.
A study published in early January in the British medical journal the Lancet estimated the death toll in Gaza due to hostilities during the first nine months of the was about 40% higher than the figures recorded by the Gaza health ministry.
AFP is unable to independently verify the death toll.
Here are some more images from today on the newswires:
Hamas has no desire to return to war with Israel, a senior official with the Palestinian group told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday, nearly three weeks into a fragile ceasefire that halted fighting in Gaza.
“Returning to war is certainly not our wish nor our decision,” Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim said in an interview.
According to AFP’s interview, Naim urged Arab countries not to recognise Israel, as Saudi Arabia is courted by the US to join a small group of its neighbours in normalising ties.
“We call on them not to normalise,” Naim told AFP. “We call on all Arab countries, both those currently normalising and those considering normalisation, to step back from this.”
Hamas official says Israel putting Gaza truce in danger of 'collapse'
A senior Hamas official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday that Israel’s “lack of commitment” to the Gaza ceasefire has put it in danger of collapse.
Israel’s “procrastination and lack of commitment in implementing the first phase … certainly exposes this agreement to danger and thus it may stop or collapse,” said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau.
Updated
Away from Gaza and Israel, Lebanon formed a new government on Saturday, Lebanon’s presidency announced.
The presidency said it would be a 24-member cabinet. It was formed after more than three weeks of talks with rival political parties in Lebanon – where government posts are parceled out according to sect – and days of deadlock over the ministers, usually named by Hezbollah and its ally Amal.
The British family of an Israeli hostage freed from Gaza on Saturday have described their “bittersweet” emotions, expressing joy and relief at his release but concern over his “sunken” appearance.
Eli Sharabi, 52, was released from Gaza on Saturday, along with two other hostages, in exchange for 183 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Sharabi’s brother-in-law, Stephen Brisley, who lives in Bridgend, Wales, told the Guardian that he was feeling a “kaleidoscope of emotions” after Sharabi’s release.
Brisley described his joy and relief at seeing Sharabi alive “because, up until yesterday afternoon, we didn’t even know whether he was alive or dead”. He said this was “very much tempered by the distress of seeing the state that he’s in”.
“You can see the clothes are hanging off of him. You can see his face was gone. The spark and the light has gone from his eyes. His cheeks are sunken.”
“It’s a bittersweet day because we don’t know, other than the fact that he’s alive, exactly what state he’s in physically and mentally,” said Brisley. “But it’s the moment we’ve been we’ve been waiting for. I’m just trying to focus on the joy of that and leave the more distressing elements for another time while we help him to recover.”
Sharabi was at his home in Be’eri kibbutz with his British-born wife and their two teenage daughters when Hamas militants entered it on 7 October 2023.
The armed men shot their dog before locking Lianne, Sharabi’s wife, and their two daughters in their safe room and setting it on fire. Their bodies were later identified and Sharabi was taken to Gaza along with his brother, Yossi.
Crowds greeted buses filled with dozens of freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees as they arrived in the West Bank. Israel released 183 more Palestinian men as part of its ceasefire agreement with Hamas, who had earlier released three male Israeli hostages.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) have this from the Israeli army in relation to the news that it struck a Hamas weapons depot in the Deir Ali area, southern Syria:
Israeli “fighter jets conducted an intelligence-based strike on a weapons storage facility belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation in the area of Deir Ali in southern Syria”, the military said in a statement.
Away from Gaza now and Reuters is reporting the Israeli army said it had struck a Hamas weapons depot in the Deir Ali area in southern Syria.
We will bring you more details on that as and when we get them.
Updated
Gaza ceasefire hostage exchange - a round-up of today's events so far
If you are just joining us, here’s a update on what has happened today in the fifth Gaza ceasefire exchange:
Three more Israeli hostages – Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami – were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip earlier today.
Their conditions prompted concern and were denounced by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “shocking”.
183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were then released in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
Seven freed Palestinians were then admitted to hospital, according to the Palestinian prisoners’ club as a “result of the brutality they were subjected to during the past months”.
Updated
Hamas accuses Israel of 'slow killing' of Palestinian prisoners and detainees
Hamas accused Israel of adopting a policy it described as the “slow killing” of Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails after seven Palestinians freed on Saturday were admitted to hospital, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The fact that seven prisoners were transferred to hospitals immediately after their release … reflects the systematic assaults and mistreatment of our prisoners by the Israeli prison authorities,” Hamas said in a statement, adding that it was “part of the policy of the extremist Israeli government, which pursues the slow killing of prisoners inside the prisons”.
Lawyers for British-linked hostages in Gaza have shared a statement on the release of Eli Sharabi today. It says they and their clients, the Sharabi and Brisley families, are “delighted” that Eli Sharabi has been released but are “saddened but unfortunately not surprised at Eli, Ohad and Or’s physical condition and the grotesque spectacle of their release”.
In the statement, the lawyers say that all other hostages still being held in Gaza “must be unconditionally and immediately freed”.
The lawyers’ statement continues:
We would like to pay tribute to Eli’s family, including our extraordinary clients Stephen Brisley and Sharon Sharabi, who despite their trauma and grief have campaigned relentlessly for the release of Eli, Yossi and all other hostages for 16 months, alongside their amazing family friend Annabel Sheldon. We hope that they will now begin on a road to some kind of peace, and that the public will grant them the space they need to do so.”
Work on the second stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, aimed at securing the release of about 60 male hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, has begun and an Israeli negotiating team was expected to fly on Saturday to Doha, Israeli media reported on Friday.
But Hamas’s claim that Israel has delayed the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying aid supplies food and other humanitarian supplies as agreed under the truce deal – an accusation Israel denies – shows how little trust there is between the two sides, as Reuters reports.
The Israeli military said on Friday that commanders were conducting situational assessments ahead of the next phase of the agreement currently being discussed, with troops deployed at various points around the Gaza Strip.
In exchange for the three Israeli hostages’ release, Israel is freeing 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, some convicted of involvement in attacks that killed dozens of people, as well as 111 detained in Gaza during the war.
In Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, a bus carrying 42 freed Palestinians was welcomed by a cheering crowd, reports Reuters.
Among those freed was Eyad Abu Shkaidem, sentenced to 18 life terms in Israel for masterminding suicide attacks in revenge for Israel’s 2004 assassinations of Hamas leaders. “Today, I am reborn,” Shkaidem told reporters upon arrival in Ramallah, as the crowd cheered.
Many of the prisoners and detainees freed appeared in poor health and some complained of ill-treatment. “The occupation humiliated us for over a year,” said Shkaidem.
The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said they have taken six of the 42 released prisoners to hospitals.
The international criminal court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict.
Rights groups have reported grave abuses of Palestinians in Israeli detention since the start of the Gaza war. The Israeli military is investigating several cases of alleged abuse but rejects allegations of systemic abuse within its detention facilities.
Seven Palestinians freed by Israel admitted to hospitals, says NGO
Seven Palestinians who were among those freed by Israel on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal were admitted to hospitals upon arriving in Ramallah, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“All the prisoners who were released today are in need of medical care, treatment, and examinations as a result of the brutality they were subjected to during the past months. There are seven who were transferred to the hospital,” said Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the NGO.
The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that seven Palestinians released today had been admitted to hospitals.
Updated
UK foreign secretary David Lammy has shared the following on X:
After 491 days of agony, 3 more hostages – including Eli Sharabi who has strong UK links – have finally been released. They and their families have suffered an unimaginable ordeal. The ceasefire deal must be implemented in full, including the release of the remaining hostages.”
Here are some more images coming in via the newswires today:
A bus carrying a group of Palestinian prisoners and detainees freed by Israel in exchange for Gaza hostages arrived on Saturday in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist said.
Part of the fifth hostage-prisoner swap under a fragile Gaza truce, the released Palestinians stepped off the bus one by one to a cheering crowd who had gathered since the morning in Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority.
Egypt says Israeli suggestion to establish Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia 'irresponsible'
Egypt condemned on Saturday as “irresponsible” statements by Israeli officials suggesting establishing a Palestinian state on Saudi territory, according to a statement by Egypt’s foreign ministry.
The foreign ministry said it considered the suggestion a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty”, adding that the kingdom’s security was a “red line for Egypt”.
Egypt has released a statement in which it condemns “irresponsible” Israeli remarks against Saudi Arabia on establishing a Palestinian state on Saudi territory, according to a beaking news line on Reuters.
More details soon …
Armed Hamas militants handed over three male Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in central Gaza, as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel. Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy were captured by Hamas during the attack on 7 October 2023, and have been held in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months. In the latest exchange, Israel will free 183 more Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Most of the 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees released by Israel on Saturday include (111) Palestinians from Gaza who were detained after the 7 October 2023 attack. Of the 183, 18 people released were serving life sentences for committing deadly attacks and 54 were serving long-term sentences. All are men, ranging in age from 20 to 61.
While Israel considers them to be terrorists, Palestinians view them as battling Israeli occupation, reports the Associated Press (AP). Virtually every Palestinian has a friend, relative or acquaintance who has been imprisoned, it adds.
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Bus carrying Palestinian prisoners and detainees arrives in West Bank
Live TV footage has shown a bus carrying Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Israeli prisons arriving in the West Bank. Crowds cheering can be seen surrounding the bus.
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Bus carrying freed Palestinians departs Ofer Prison
A bus carrying freed Palestinians has departed from Ofer prison, according to an update by an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist.
The prisoners and detainees released today will be brought to the West Bank and Gaza.
Updated
Israel president denounces treatment of freed hostages as 'crime against humanity'
Israel’s president Isaac Herzog denounced the treatment of Israeli hostages freed from Gaza on Saturday as a “crime against humanity” after the men were paraded on stage during their handover by masked Hamas militants.
“This is what a crime against humanity looks like! The whole world must look directly at Ohad, Or, and Eli – returning after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained – being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle by vile murderers,” Herzog said in a statement on X.
Here are some closer images of the three Israeli hostages, Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami, handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu denounces 'shocking' images of hostages' poor condition
Israel will not ignore the sight of three weak, emaciated Israeli hostages being led on to a stage in Gaza and forced into an apparent staged interview by Hamas militants before their release on Saturday, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“We will not gloss over the shocking scenes that we saw today,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Three hostages now in Israeli territory as families voice concern over physical condition
Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami have crossed into Israeli territory and are on their way to be reunited with family, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Reuters has a breaking news line on Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said that Israel “will not gloss over shocking images seen today” in reference to the poor physical condition of the hostages seen today.
The three men all appeared thin, weak and pale, and in worse condition than the 18 hostages who had previously been freed under the truce agreed last month.
“He looked like a skeleton, it was awful to see,” Ohad Ben Ami’s mother-in-law, Michal Cohen, told Channel 13 News as she watched the Hamas-directed handover ceremony, which included them answering questions posed to them by a masked man as militants armed with automatic rifles stood on each side.
Dozens of armed Hamas militants were deployed at the site in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, as the men were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross which was to transport them to Israeli forces in Gaza.
In exchange, Israel will release 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, some convicted of involvement in attacks that killed dozens of people and including 18 serving life sentences and 111 detained in Gaza during the war, according to Hamas.
Updated
The Israeli army has confirmed in a statement that they have received the three Israeli hostages ahead of their return to Israeli territory.
Iran's Khamenei receives Hamas leaders for first time since Gaza truce
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met acting Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and two other leaders of the Palestinian group in Tehran on Saturday, Iranian state media reported.
It gave no details about the meeting and only posted photos of Khamenei meeting al-Hayya, Mohammed Darwish, head of Hamas’ leadership council, and top Hamas official Nizar Awadallah, reports Reuters.
Updated
Here are a few more images coming in via the newswires:
Updated
Israel is set to release 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees on Saturday to fulfil its side of the agreement, according to the Hamas-linked prisoners’ office in Gaza.
Hamas hands over three Israeli hostages to ICRC
Hamas has handed over the three Israeli hostages, Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami, to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip.
Live TV footage showed the hostages getting into ICRC vehicles and being driven away.
Updated
Here is an image of the three Israeli hostages, Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami, on stage in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip.
The three Israeli hostages are now on stage in Deir al-Balah, flanked by armed Hamas militants.
Live TV footage earlier showed the three hostages exiting Hamas vehicles and walking up on to the stage. They are now shown holding certificates and being interviewed by Hamas militants.
Updated
Two International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials are on the stage in Deir al-Balah signing handover papers, live TV coverage shows. The handover of the Israeli hostages is expected very soon.
Here are some images coming in via the newswires of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip.
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Live TV shows three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles have arrived in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. Crowds have gathered around the vehicles as they drive slowly towards the stage area where Hamas militants are lined up.
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ICRC team on way to collect Israeli hostages from Hamas
A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza are on the way to collect Israeli hostages from Hamas, an official involved in the operation told Reuters.
Updated
Since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect on 19 January, 13 Israeli or dual-national hostages have been freed, along with five Thai hostages released outside of the deal for the first stage.
A total of 33 hostages – eight of whom Israel says are dead – are set to be released during the first 42-day phase of the deal in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinians held by Israel, as AFP reports.
The fate of the remaining children held in Gaza – Kfir Bibas and his brother Ariel – as well as their mother, Shiri, remain unknown.
Updated
The BBC has some more information about the 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees expected to be released by Israel on Saturday in the fifth exchange of the current ceasefire.
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.
Updated
There are pictures coming in of people gathering in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and waiting to watch a live stream of Hamas’s expected release of three Israeli captives this morning.
Updated
A convoy of Red Cross vehicles is heading to a hostage handover location in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, the Times of Israel has quoted an Israeli defence official as saying.
Hamas is to hand over the three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross. As posted earlier, they will then be brought to Israel Defence Forces troops in Gaza and be escorted out of the strip.
Updated
A small crowd has gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, which will only grow as the release of Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy and Eli Sharabi draws closer, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper is reporting.
The people are holding signs with posters of the three hostages, and one is holding a homemade sign reading “I’m sorry that it took so long, welcome back”.
Updated
Continued from last post
Hamas said only 8,500 trucks out of the 12,000 that should have arrived so far had entered the territory, most containing food and secondary goods including chips and chocolate instead of more urgent items.
In addition, only 10% of the 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans needed to provide shelter had arrived, Hamas said, leaving hundreds of thousands in harsh winter weather.
Finally, heavy machinery needed to clear millions of tonnes of rubble and recover the thousands of bodies thought to be buried had not arrived.
Israel has rejected accusations that it is dragging its feet on enabling the entry to aid supplies as “a completely unfounded claim”, saying it has allowed in thousands of trucks, including tents and shelters, Reuters reports.
Israeli military agency Cogat said more than 100,000 tents had entered Gaza since the agreement came into force last month and that caravans were also being allowed in, while tractors had entered from Egypt since Sunday.
However, hundreds of thousands of people are still marooned in tents and other makeshift shelters worn out by months of use as fighting raged last year.
Updated
More here on Hamas’s claim that Israel has breached the ceasefire agreement in relation to aid delivery. The accusation – denied by Israel – led the militant group to delay releasing the names of the three Israeli hostages set to be released on Saturday until after a 4pm (1400 GMT) deadline had passed.
It was not immediately clear whether the delay would affect the scheduled exchange, Reuters reports.
Hamas accused Israel of delaying the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying food and other humanitarian supplies agreed under the truce deal that took effect on 19 January, and holding back all but a fraction of the tents and mobile homes needed to provide shelter to people returning to their bombed-out homes.
“This demonstrates clear manipulation of relief and shelter priorities,” Hamas said in a statement.
Cogat, the Israeli military agency overseeing the aid deliveries into Gaza, denied the accusation and warned that Israel would “not tolerate violations by Hamas”.
Continued in next post
Updated
When Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington this week, his first stop was to meet evangelical Christian leaders, who have cheered on Israel in the war in Gaza in an alliance with the country’s pro-settler rightwing government. For both constituencies, Israel’s right to annex the occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank is a matter of faith and, they hope, a matter of time.
Both constituencies cheered this week as Donald Trump announced his half-baked plan to “take over” Gaza, an idea he had only tinkered with before Tuesday evening, when it tumbled out to the obvious surprise of his closest aides.
While most observers were shocked that the US president was in effect advocating for the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip, the conservative alliance of Israel and the United States sees an opportunity to accelerate the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and its eventual annexation.
For Andrew Roth’s full analysis, click here:
Updated
Today’s expected release of another three Israeli hostages comes against the backdrop of uncertainty over the Israel-Hamas ceasefire after US president Donald Trump’s surprise announcement this week that he envisions the US taking over Gaza, moving Palestinians to other countries, and developing the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
“We’re in no rush on it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, referring to his Gaza plan.
Still, as Reuters reports, it underlined the fragility of the deal reached last month with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the US.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed Trump’s vision for Gaza as a “remarkable” plan, but it was immediately rejected by Arab countries, Palestinian groups including Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and many Gazans, who said they would rebuild their homes and restaurants themselves.
However, Israeli leaders have repeated the line that Gazans who wish should be able to leave and defence minister Israel Katz ordered the army on Thursday to prepare a plan to allow for the departure of Gaza residents who wanted to go.
The Israel Defence Forces expects Hamas to release the three hostages starting around 10am local time Saturday – about an hour and a half away – from one location in central Gaza, the Times of Israel has quoted an Israeli defence official as saying.
Hamas has been setting up a stage for the handover to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah.
The Times reports all three hostages will be escorted out of Gaza by IDF troops to an army facility near Re’im, where they will undergo an initial physical and mental check-up and meet their families.
Afterwards, they will be taken to Ichilov and Sheba hospitals in central Israel.
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What's known about the three hostages set to be freed
Three Israelis held hostage in Gaza for 16 months are set to be released by Hamas on Saturday as part of the fragile ceasefire agreement. Agence France-Presse has this rundown on what’s known about the three men.
Eli Sharabi, 52
Sharabi, who turns 53 this month, was at his home in kibbutz Beeri with his British-born wife and their two teenage daughters when Hamas stormed it on 7 October 2023.
The armed men shot their dog before locking the family in their safe room and setting it on fire. The bodies of his wife and two daughters were later identified.
He was taken to Gaza along with his brother Yossi. The Israeli military said early last year that Yossi was killed and his body was in the hands of Hamas in Gaza.
Ohad Ben Ami, 56
Ben Ami was abducted with his wife, Raz Ben Ami, from their home in kibbutz Beeri.
She was released during the one-week truce in November 2023.
Images have circulated on social media showing him being seized in a T-shirt and underwear.
Ben Ami, who has dual Israeli and German citizenship and turned 56 in captivity, is the accountant for his kibbutz and a keen bike rider.
Or Levy, 34
Levy and his wife, Einav Levy, went to the Nova music festival, leaving their two-year-old son Almog with his grandparents.
The usually inseparable couple, who met in high school, tried to hide from the Hamas attackers along Route 232, the only path away from the festival.
“When gunfire erupted shortly after their arrival, they sought refuge in a concrete safe room, later known as ‘the death bunker’,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
There, Einav was murdered, and Or was taken captive.
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These images have come in of Hamas militants standing guard in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, this morning before the expected release of three Israeli hostages.
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Hamas has begun setting up a stage in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, where the hostage release is expected to take place, according to a Times of Israel report about 20 minutes ago.
It went on:
The location is a new one, with the terror group shifting sites where it conducts the releases.
The stage has a a sign of a fist with a Palestinian flag, and the words “total victory” written in Hebrew at the bottom over a picture of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has vowed the war will not end until Israel achieves “total victory.”
White pickup trucks with machine guns mounted on the back flank the stage and masked and armed Hamas gunmen can be seen forming a cordon surrounding the site.
It is not immediately clear if there will be one or more sites where the three hostages, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Or Levy, 34, will be freed.
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Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest news from the Middle East, with the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees expected to take place on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas has named the three to be released in the fifth exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel as civilians Eli Sharabi, Ohad ben Ami and Or Levy.
Israel is set to release 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees on Saturday to fulfil its side of the agreement, according to the Hamas-linked prisoners’ office in Gaza.
The Gaza ceasefire deal remains fragile. The release of the hostages’ names was delayed by several hours after Hamas accused Israel of delaying the delivery of aid and other equipment in breach of the terms of the ceasefire. Israel dismissed the claims as “completely unfounded”, saying it had allowed thousands of trucks carrying food, aid and shelters into Gaza.
It’s nearly 8am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. In other developments:
The United States has approved the sale of more than $7.4bn in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the proposed sale – which still technically requires the approval of Congress – “improves Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serves as a deterrent to regional threats”.
Global aid agency the Norwegian Refugee Council said humanitarian efforts in Gaza remained in an “emergency crisis setting”. Communications adviser Shaina Low said more aid had been able to enter the territory since the ceasefire but that there were still “delays in screening certain types of material”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still in the US and has delivered a joint press conference with US house speaker Mike Johnson. Netanyahu praised President Trump for lifting bans on the provision of certain weapons that were in place under the Biden administration and said there was no “future for peace” in his region if Hamas remained there
The international criminal court (ICC) condemned Trump’s executive order announcing sanctions against the court, accusing the US president of trying to “harm its independent and impartial judicial” work. “The court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world,” it said.
The UK has “no plans” to impose similar sanctions and will “support the independence of the ICC”, a spokesperson for prime minister Keir Starmer said. The UK and the US “over a number of administrations have taken a different view on the ICC”, they added
France, Germany and the Netherlands all spoke out against the sanctions. Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof said that, as the host of the court, the Netherlands had a “responsibility to guarantee the unhindered functioning of the criminal court at all times. We will keep doing that.”
The UN also criticised the sanctions. “We deeply regret the individual sanctions announced yesterday against court personnel, and call for this measure to be reversed,” human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.
Trump’s order said the court had “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel” and vowed to “impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions”.
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