14 Israeli hostages to be freed today in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners

Israeli authorities have said that 14 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas will be released on Saturday in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners.

It's the second day of a temporary ceasefire in a deal brokered by Qatar, which mandates exchanges at a ratio of three to one.

The temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas offers breathing space in the ongoing conflict. But it doesn't signal an end to the hostage crisis - or even the beginning of its end. If anything, it provides Hamas with an advantage in what is likely to become a drawn-out, open-ended drama.

The release of dozens of elderly, women and child hostages over the coming days is going to be greeted with huge relief by Israelis.

It means Hamas will continue to hold more than 150 hostages but for them, this may turn out to be more advantageous than the larger number.

For one, the nearly 240 hostages originally taken probably imposed a huge burden on the organisation. Hostages need to be constantly looked after, monitored, and - if necessary - moved. If some of them are old, sick, or have special medical needs, it makes things more complicated.

By "getting rid" of anyone requiring special attention, Hamas is therefore not displaying compassion, but primarily freeing up resources that are needed elsewhere. This is especially true for an estimated two dozen labourers from Thailand and Nepal who hold no strategic value to Hamas, because they are neither Israeli nor Jewish.

Another reason is that the remaining hostages are easier to portray as "legitimate", because they are mostly Israeli soldiers or men of fighting age.

Hamas will argue that they are "enemy combatants" - even Prisoners of War.

Crucially, this will increase pressure on the Netanyahu government to agree to a prisoner swap.

Just like in the past, when Israel agreed to release hundreds - on one occasion: over a thousand - Palestinians in return for small numbers of Israeli soldiers, Hamas will demand the freeing of thousands of its members that are currently in Israeli prisons.

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A total of 39 Palestinian detainees have been released from Israeli prisons in exchange for a group of hostages held by Hamas.

They are accused of a range of offences, from throwing stones to attempted murder. Some were convicted while others were awaiting trial.

The group of 24 women and 15 teenage boys was released across the Beituniya checkpoint in the occupied West Bank.

One of the released women is Marah Bakeer. She arrived at her mother’s house in Beit Hanina in Jerusalem on Friday night.

She was arrested in 2015, when she was 16 years old, and sentenced to eight and a half years in jail for a knife attack on a border police officer.

Bakeer told waiting journalists: “This deal comes following the death of many people and this makes us unhappy and uncomfortable.”

“The news of the deal was a surprise,” she added.

Family handoutCopyright: Family handout

Thirteen hostages - all women and children - were freed as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas.

Among them is Yafa Adar, 85, She was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October.

Her granddaughter Adva found a video of her being taken to Gaza, surrounded by four armed men. She has three children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, the group speaking for families said. Yafa's grandson Tamir, 38, who defended the kibbutz as part of the Nir Oz emergency squad, was also taken to Gaza, the Times of Israel reported.

• You can read more about the hostages who were released on Friday here.

There were late night scenes of celebration outside a hospital where some of the freed Israeli women and children were taken for medical checks and to be reunited with their families.

They’d been brought out of Gaza by the International Committee of the Red Cross and handed over to Israeli security forces at Egypt’s Rafah crossing.

In the occupied West Bank, crowds greeted some of the 39 Palestinian women and boys released from Israeli jails yesterday, as they were brought by coach to an Israeli checkpoint.

Further releases are due to take place today and for the next two days, as a pause in fighting also brings some respite to those in war-torn, besieged Gaza.

The UN says that yesterday saw the biggest amount of aid enter the strip via Egypt, in the past seven weeks.

Already today, more lorries are lining up. Although both sides have said that fighting will resume, President Biden – who was involved in reaching the deal mediated by Qatar – has said there’s a real chance of extending the truce.

Israel says it is examining a list of 13 further hostages who are due to be released by Hamas later today. In exchange a number of Palestinian prisoners are also due to be freed.

Lorries carrying humanitarian aid are already lined up to head into Gaza through the Rafah crossing for a second day.

Despite the temporary truce, conditions in the territory remain dire. Fuel, food, water and medical supplies are desperately needed.

Almost 200 aid lorries reached Gaza on Friday, the biggest convoy since Hamas's attacks on Israel on 7 October and Israel's retaliatory offensive.

Hello and welcome to the live page as we restart our coverage.

It's now more than 24 hours into a four-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The truce appears to be holding after the first group of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners were exchanged and the biggest humanitarian aid convoy reached Gaza.

A total of 24 hostages were returned to Israel - 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and one Filipino - which in turn released 39 Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank.

Under the terms of the agreement a total of 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are meant to be released during this truce.

Stay with us as we bring you all further developments on this story.