It’s approaching 7.15am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv and here’s where we’ll close this blog. Our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war will continue shortly. All the Guardian’s coverage can be seen here.
Here’s an overview of the latest key developments:
Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals released from Hamas captivity arrived in Israel on Sunday in the second step of the crucial hostage deal, which briefly risked falling apart due to a dispute over the delivery of aid supplies into Gaza. Television footage showed hostages on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing after leaving Gaza, as Hamas handed over the captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross late on Saturday. Of the 13 Israelis released, six were women and seven were children and teenagers.
A bus carrying nearly three dozen Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank early on Sunday, following Hamas’ release of 17 hostages in the second round of exchanges. Hundreds of people greeted the International Committee of the Red Cross bus as it arrived in Al Bireh, Associated Press reported. Crowds chanted “God is great” as the bus arrived, and several young men stood on the roof of the vehicle. Many in the crowd held Hamas flags and chanted pro-Hamas slogans
The UN said 61 trucks carrying medical supplies, food and water had delivered their payloads in the northern Gaza Strip as the pause in fighting allows aid to enter the territory. Another 200 trucks had been dispatched to Gaza from Nitzana in Israel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Saturday, with 187 of them having made it past the border by the early evening local time.
Israeli troops killed six Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the Palestinian ministry of health said. A 25-year-old doctor was killed early in the morning outside his home in Qabatiya, near Jenin, it said. Another Palestinian was killed in el-Bireh, near Ramallah. Four people were also killed by Israeli army fire in Jenin, during an incursion by a large number of armoured vehicles into the town. Witnesses told Agence France-Presse on Saturday that the Israeli army was surrounding Jenin’s public hospital and the Ibn Sina clinic, and that soldiers were searching ambulances. They also reported heavy fighting with automatic weapons.
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Israeli fire hit one of its patrols in the country’s south on Saturday, despite the Hamas-Israel truce largely quietening the Lebanon-Israel frontier. Around noon, a Unifil patrol was hit by Israeli military gunfire in the vicinity of Aitarun, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said. “No peacekeepers were injured, but the vehicle was damaged.”
Egypt said on Saturday it had received positive signals from all parties over a possible extension of the Gaza truce for one or two days, Reuters reported.Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service, said the country was holding extensive talks with all parties to reach an agreement over extending the four-day ceasefire, which “means the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails”.
The number of Thai nationals believed to be held hostage by Hamas has increased by two, Thailand’s ministry of foreign affairs has said. This means that, after Saturday’s release of four more Thai hostages, a further 18 Thai nationals are still being held by Hamas.
The body of a Tanzanian student who went missing in Israel after the bloody Hamas attack last month was due to be returned home on Sunday, his family said. Clemence Felix Mtenga, 22, was one of two Tanzanians reported missing after the 7 October attack.
In the UK, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London on Saturday to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza in the latest major demonstration in the capital. Police were handing out leaflets to provide “absolute clarity” on what would be deemed an offence. It came after weeks of pressure on the force over the handling of the now-regular demonstrations.
Amid the second release of hostages by Hamas, the plight of those held by the Palestinian militant group has gripped the Israeli public’s attention, as the Associated Press reports.
Thousands of people gathered in central Tel Aviv on Saturday in solidarity with the hostages and their families. Many accuse prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not doing enough to bring the hostages home.
Relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas at a rally in Tel Aviv on Satruday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
The releases – the latest of 17 hostages, including 13 Israelis, late on Saturday – have triggered mixed emotions: happiness, coupled with angst over the scores of hostages who remain in captivity.
Netanyahu’s office announced early on Sunday that it had received a new list of hostages slated to be released later in the day in the third of four scheduled swaps.
In the West Bank, meanwhile, hundreds of people burst into wild celebrations for a second night as a busload of Palestinian prisoners arrived early on Sunday after 39 were released by Israel.
Netanyahu’s office said the latest Israeli hostages released included seven children and six women and most were from Kibbutz Be’eri, a community Hamas militants ravaged during their 7 October attack. The children ranged in age from 3 to 16, and the women ranged from 18 to 67.
The kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks on 7 October. Photograph: Shutterstock
It was a bittersweet moment for the residents of Be’eri, who have been living in a Dead Sea hotel since their community was overrun. A kibbutz spokesperson said all the released hostages either had a family member killed in the 7 October rampage or had left a loved one in captivity in Gaza.
The mother of one of the released hostages, 12-year-old Hila Rotem, remained in captivity, the spokesperson said. Another, Emily Hand, is a girl whose father believed her to be dead for weeks before finding out she was held as a hostage.
At their hotel, kibbutz residents gathered in a function room, cheering in excitement as they saw the first images of their loved ones being released on television.
In case you missed this earlier, who were the 24 hostages that Hamas released on Friday in the first round of exchanges?
They comprised 13 Israelis, 10 Thai citizens and a Filipino man.
The Israeli hostages included four children with female relatives, who were all visiting family at Nir Oz kibbutz when Hamas attacked on 7 October, and five elderly women, four of them residents of Nir Oz and one from a nearby kibbutz.
The other hostages had been working in the area, part of a large migrant labour force doing caring, agricultural and other work inside Israel.
Here’s more on how the hostage and prisoner release agreement between Israel and Hamas briefly risked collapse before Saturday’s releases.
Reuters details how the deal was in danger of derailment earlier in the day after the armed wing of Hamas said it was delaying the scheduled second round of hostage releases until Israel met all truce conditions, including committing to let aid trucks into northern Gaza.
Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said only 65 of 340 aid trucks that had entered Gaza since Friday had reached northern Gaza, which was “less than half of what Israel agreed on”.
The Israel Defence Forces said that inside the Gaza Strip, distribution of the aid was implemented by the United Nations and international organisations.
The UN said 61 trucks of aid were delivered to northern Gaza on Saturday, the largest number since 7 October. They included food, water and emergency medical supplies.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas armed wing, also said Israel had failed to respect the terms of the Palestinian prisoner releases and that prisoners were not freed based on their time in detention.
A Qatari foreign ministry spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari, said on Saturday that there been “a lot of discussion” on how and whom to prioritise for release, and on the Palestinian side, a key criterion was the length of time spent in Israeli prisons.
He told CNN:
We are now hopeful that with the second or the third day of this pause, we would be able to hash out a lot of these details that made this day so difficult.
Ensuring that the deal did not collapse took a day of high-stakes diplomacy mediated by Qatar and Egypt, a process in which US president Joe Biden also participated by calling the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Seventeen hostages released by Hamas arrive in Israel
Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals released from Hamas captivity arrived in Israel on Sunday in the second step of the crucial hostage deal, Reuters reports.
The agreement briefly risked falling apart due to a dispute over the delivery of aid supplies into Gaza.
The short-lived dispute that threatened the temporary ceasefire to free captives was overcome with the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, but it underscored the fragility of the agreement, under which a total of 50 Israeli hostages are to be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners over four days.
Television footage showed hostages on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing after leaving Gaza, as Hamas handed over the captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross late on Saturday.
Of the 13 Israelis released, six were women and seven were children and teenagers.
A convoy carrying Israeli hostages released by Hamas from Gaza arrives at the Sheba Medical Centre in Ramat Gan, Israel, early on Sunday. Photograph: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
The Israel Defence Forces said in a statement:
The released hostages are on their way to hospitals in Israel, where they will reunite with their families.
In exchange, 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from two Israeli prisons – six were women and 33 were minors, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
The number of Thai nationals believed to be held hostage by Hamas has increased by two, Thailand’s ministry of foreign affairs has said.
This means that, after Saturday’s late-night release of a second group of four Thai hostages, there are a further 18 Thai nationals still being held by Hamas.
The ministry said:
The Thai government will continue to make every effort towards the safe release and return of those remaining Thai nationals.
The first group of 10 Thai nationals was released on Friday.
Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin has named the four Thai nationals recently released by Hamas.
They are: Natthaphon Onkaew, Khomkrit Chombua, Anucha Angkaew and Manee Jirachat.
Thavisin said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter):
From the initial physical examination
– Everyone is healthy. No one needed urgent medical attention.
– Everyone talks and walks normally.
– Everyone is happy to be released. Overall, mental health is in a good state. They can talk normally. They want to take a shower and contact their families.
Currently on the way to Shamir Medical Center Hospital (Assaf Harofe).
Thank you to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Security Department.
A bus carrying nearly three dozen Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank early on Sunday, following Hamas’ release of 17 hostages in the second round of exchanges under the temporary ceasefire agreement.
Hundreds of people greeted the International Committee of the Red Cross bus as it arrived in Al Bireh, Associated Press reports.
Crowds chanted “God is great” as the bus arrived, and several young men stood on the roof of the vehicle. Many in the crowd held Hamas flags and chanted pro-Hamas slogans.
Here are some of the latest images of the scenes:
Released Palestinian prisoners react from inside the Red Cross bus near Ramallah on the West Bank after leaving an Israeli military prison under the exchange deal. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters
Released Palestinian prisoners and Red Cross staff aboard the bus early on Sunday. Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
A Palestinian prisoner, centre, is embraced in Ramallah after being freed. Photograph: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images
People react as Palestinian prisoners depart from near Ramallah. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters
Palestinians prisoners, wearing grey jumpers, cheer among supporters in Ramallah after their release in exchange for Hamas’ release of hostages. Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
Sixty-one trucks deliver aid to northern Gaza, says UN
The United Nations has said 61 trucks carrying medical supplies, food and water have delivered their payloads in the northern Gaza Strip, as a pause in fighting allows aid to enter the territory.
Another 200 trucks had been dispatched to Gaza from Nitzana in Israel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday, with 187 of them having made it past the border by the early evening local time, Agence France-Presse reports.
Eleven ambulances, three coaches and a flatbed were delivered to al-Shifa hospital, which had seen heavy fighting in recent days, “to assist with evacuations”, the OCHA statement said.
The longer the pause lasts, the more aid humanitarian agencies will be able to send in and across Gaza.
Several trucks loaded with humanitarian relief supplies enter the border of Gaza City on Saturday. Photograph: Adel Al Hwajre/ImagesLive/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock
The OCHA thanked the Palestinian and Egyptian Red Crescent groups.
The day before, when a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas began in order to facilitate the hostage and prisoner exchange, a total of 137 trucks had delivered aid in Gaza, the UN said.
Israeli authorities have released 39 Palestinian prisoners, including six women and 33 children, from two prisons as part of the second batch of the exchange deal with Hamas, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said early on Sunday, Reuters reports.
Here are some images coming through the newswires of what is reported to be a Palestinian prisoner released by Israel reuniting with her family in Jerusalem as other Palestinians celebrate their return.
A Palestinian prisoner named as Shuruk Duveyat, centre, with family in the Sur Baher neighbourhood of east Jerusalem. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Shuruk Duveyat, right, is hugged by relatives as she arrives home after her release by Israel. Photograph: Mahmoud Illean/AP
The reunion with family after the Palestinian prisoner release in exchange for Hamas’ freeing of hostages amid the four-day Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
This is Adam Fulton picking up our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. Stay with us for all the latest developments.
Israeli troops killed six Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the Palestinian ministry of health said.
Agence France-Presse reports:
A 25-year-old doctor was killed early in the morning outside his home in Qabatiya, near Jenin, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups in the north of the territory, the ministry said.
Another Palestinian was killed in el-Bireh, near Ramallah.
Four people were also killed by Israeli army fire in Jenin, during an incursion by a large number of armoured vehicles into the town, which was recently the scene of the deadliest Israeli raid in the West Bank in almost 20 years.
Witnesses told AFP on Saturday that the Israeli army was surrounding Jenin’s public hospital and the Ibn Sina clinic, and that soldiers were searching ambulances.
They also reported heavy fighting with automatic weapons.
The West Bank has seen an uptick in violence since the October 7 cross-border attack on Israel by Hamas last month, in which militants from the Gaza Strip killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to the Israeli authorities.
Israel has since responded with a bombing and land campaign in Gaza, killing nearly 15,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas government.
All the while, some 230 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers, according to the Palestinian Authority’s ministry of health.
Here are some videos surfacing on social media of what appears to be Palestinians released from Israeli prison tonight reuniting with families and friends:
🧵 Thread showing the release tonight of the second group of Palestinian women and children by Israeli occupation forces, as part of a prisoner exchange deal.
