this is bbc news. scenes of celebration in the west bank, as 200 palestinians are released from israeli prisons. earlier, fourfemale israeli soldiers were released by hamas in the second exchange under the gaza ceasefire deal. the four freed hostages have been reunited with theirfamilies, and are now undergoing medical checks in hospital, where their story is inspiring the nation. it is an immense privilege to meet these four brave women and to be part of their healing process, which is actually a part of the healing process of the entire israeli people. but a delay in releasing another israeli hostage has prompted israel to halt the return of gazans to the enclave�*s bombed—out north.

hello, i'm luxmy gopal. there have been scenes ofjubiliation in israel and the west bank, after four female israeli soldiers held hostage by hamas were released, in exchange for around 200 people detained by israel. the four young women were reunited with their parents at a reception point in southern israel. they were then taken by helicopter to a hospital to undergo medical assessment. meanwhile, crowds of palestinians turned out in the west bank to welcome two buses carrying detainees released rom two israel prisons. reports from egypt say 70 of the 200 prisoners have arrived in egypt — from where they'll travel on to neighbouring countries. as part of the ceasefire deal, thousands of gaza residents were supposed to be allowed to return to the north of the strip today. but israel is preventing them crossing into the north until a female civilian hostage, arbel yehud, is released. israel says she should

have been freed today. hamas says she will be released next week, and another armed palestinian group, islamichhad, has told the bbc it has given egyptian mediators proof she is still alive. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, has this report. another show of force by hamas, its fighters lining up among the ruins in gaza city. and then, with the red cross ready and waiting, the first glimpse of the israeli soldiers after 15 months in captivity... ..in army uniforms. karina ariev, daniella gilboa, naama levy, all aged 20, and liri albag, now aged 19. all four apparently in good physical health. with foreign reporters currently unable to enter gaza, we're relying on footage filmed by local journalists. and among israelis watching in hostage square in tel aviv,

there were cheers, as events in gaza's palestine square unfolded. the body language is positive. i must say, what seems at first sight a good appearance does not necessarily say what's going on inside — inside the body, inside the soul. among the crowd, many are still anxious. everywhere here, there are signs, reminders of the dozens of israelis still held captive in gaza. it's not clear who's alive and who's dead. and there are worries, too, about whether this fragile ceasefire will hold to free them all. and now, israel is accusing hamas of breaching the terms of the ceasefire deal, as it's not released israeli women civilian hostages first. we are determined to return, to the return of arbel yehud, an israeli citizen, kidnapped from nir oz. and also, shiri bibas and her two children, kfir and ariel, whose welfare

we are extremely concerned about. israel's promised release of some 200 palestinian prisoners in exchange for its hostages did begin as planned. the prime minister's office is threatening to delay a further pullout of israeli troops from gaza. with hundreds of displaced palestinians waiting for the green light to go back to what's left of their homes in the north, this is another very tense moment. crowds of thousands of palestinians turned out in the west bank to welcome home the prisoners released by israel. our correspondentjon donnison was there as the buses arrived. well, you can see the three prison buses behind me. about 20 minutes ago, those buses arrived and frankly, pretty chaotic scenes as the prisoners got off a very large crowd and we saw the prisoners in their grey

prison fatigues, many of them with shaved heads, long beards, a lot of them looking pretty thin. it has to be said. hoisted onto the shoulders, carried into the sports complex behind me. you can just see one now emerging there, a man in his 40s, i'd say, maybe his 50s, being carried out with a shaven head. and when they arrived, you know, the scramble to get to their loved ones. i just saw one prisoner coming out on the shoulders, and what looked to be his young son was hoisted up and put into his arms. now, the big difference in this prisoner exchange this week compared to last week is the people released today, many of them had been convicted of much more serious offences, including murder, killing israeli civilians. now, those convicted of the most serious offences, and i think there were 121 of the 200 serving life sentences, they're going to be taken to egypt, as you say. they're there already and they're going to be deported to countries including

qatar and turkey. so the people here, and i think there's about 100 or so who've been brought here today, they will be allowed to return to their families, their homes in the west bank. many of them have been in prison for years, and it's really a big moment for palestinians here. the prisoner issue is a massive one. most families in the west bank will have had a family member or a friend who's been held in israeli prison at some point. and, you know, these images today has to be said hamas today, it has to be said, hamas will make hay from them because they'll say, "look, we are the force that is getting our prisoners out." as we mentioned, 70 of the palestinians released from israeli prisons, including some of the most serious offenders, have been deported. they were taken to egypt, before travelling on to other neighbouring countries. 0ur gaza correspondent, rushdi abualouf, is following developments from cairo. i spoke to him a little earlier

and asked what we know about the condition of the prisoners. well, they are supposed to be checked up in somewhere in cairo as they arrived there. we understand that the egyptians are working and trying to, you know, make a medical check—up. in gaza, there is a facility in the european hospital. it's the closest hospital to kerem shalom crossing, the place where palestinian prisoners will be released, 16 of them into gaza. they also will be checked in this medical facility. the rest of them, the palestinian authority in ramallah should do thisjob for them. and we understand that there was ambulances and medical teams are in the place to check their health condition. but most important is that the problem that has been in place today and preventing hundreds of thousands of people to return to the north are it's in its way to to be solved. we understand that we got some exclusive information from

the mediators that they have received a video a proof received a video, a proof of life from islamichhad, the group which is holding the israeli civilian hostages that israel demands her release. they have got a proof of life for her, and now they are working with the mediators to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people will go back to the north tomorrow. they need a bit of technical issue. there is qatari and egyptian teams in gaza now. they will be doing a search for the road that people will take tomorrow to make sure that there is no explosives are left behind, and also to pave the way for the people to walk smoothly and also collect some of the bodies that are being killed or dead in the streets.

so there is a lot ofjob overnight for the technical team by qatar and the egyptian team to make sure that the safest roads for people to go back and in the end they are waiting forfinal agreement, final approval from the israelis, that people would be allowed to go back. today we have seen very chaotic scene in the place. people are trying to approach the israeli checkpoint. already three people were injured in the area. one of them is in a very critical condition. a hamas police unit in the place trying to stop people from reaching too close to the israeli checkpoint. people are supposed to go to two directions. whoever travel in a car has to go through salahuddin road and through a scanner. the people who are walking are only allowed to walk through a coastal road. tanks will be moved, withdrawn from the coastal road overnight to allow people

to go back. let's speak to hassan barari in doha. he is a professor of international relations at qatar university. the eyes of the world will have been on the release of the israeli soldiers today. what effect do you think hamas �*s stadium but handover will have? obviously, hamas was taking 0bviously, hamas was taking advantage of the day. in other words, hamas is trying to say that everyone is talking about, but we are here, we have seen today the military men in uniform, they look good. they were doing a lot of messaging, the first message was being sent to the israelis

themselves, that the government argument that hamas was on the brink of defeat is totally baseless, given the variety and number of people showing up for the handover of the captives. so this is a very important message because they want the israeli public to realise that hamas if it is impossible and the only way forward is by putting out of pressure on the israeli government to continue the ceasefire. but israeli government to continue the ceasefire.— the ceasefire. but how successfully _ the ceasefire. but how successfully do - the ceasefire. but how successfully do think l the ceasefire. but how - successfully do think hamas and katina ceasefire on their part of course, we have this obstacle policy and is awaiting to be able to return all but the israeli government says they are not allowed to do so because part of the ceasefire terms have been breached in that the civilian hostage, arbel yehud, that the civilian hostage, arbelyehud, has that the civilian hostage, arbel yehud, has not been released yet?— released yet? yes, but immediately _ released yet? yes, but immediately hamas i released yet? yes, but i immediately hamas raise released yet? yes, but - immediately hamas raise a statement saying that they will release the female civilian

next saturday. i think this is may be a breach, may be a technical problem, but they are trying to mediate between the two sides in order to make their ceasefire work, and is their ceasefire work, and is the first stage. who calls the shots in this ceasefire agreement is president trump. he made it clear that he wants this to succeed. and i can see that at least a first date will be a successful story. i expect speed bumps in days to come but they will overcome that. so speed bumps in days to come but they will overcome that. 50 it they will overcome that. so it sounds as _ they will overcome that. so it sounds as though _ they will overcome that. so it sounds as though you - they will overcome that. so it sounds as though you have i they will overcome that. so it sounds as though you have faith in the ceasefire actually being achieved. 0f in the ceasefire actually being achieved. of course, there are still obstacles to potentially overcome but say it is achieved, what do you think a gaza post ceasefire looks like? what future does hamas have their alongside an israeli

government led by benjamin netanyahu? government led by ben'amin netanyahuvfi government led by ben'amin netan ahu? , , ., netanyahu? this is the million dollar question. _ netanyahu? this is the million dollar question. everyone - netanyahu? this is the million dollar question. everyone is i dollar question. everyone is talking about the day after. i can't imagine hamas completely out of the picture because there is no alternative. we see it hamas be diminished by the military attack and defence from the israeli army. today we have seen them in complete control of the situation. we can have the palestinian authority moving forces in order to offset them and what i can imagine is a committee that would oversee the delivery of aid and the reconstruction of gaza and this will include only the technocrat. so they don't belong to hamas.—

the technocrat. so they don't belong to hamas. thank you so much for your— belong to hamas. thank you so much for your analysis. - earlier, we spoke to rosalia bollen, a spokesperson from the un children's charity unicef who is based in al—mawasi in the south of gaza. she told us what the situation is like in gaza, nearly one week since the beginning of the ceasefire. in one word, it is very cold. winter has obviously started and while families are relieved that the ceasefire has taken effect, they are still in makeshift tents or in schools turned into shelters without heating. here there is no infrastructure so there is no running water. i see lots of children every day in the morning withjerry cans, with jars, empty bottles, going out trying to find water. and the tents here, they are made of cloth, of plastic sheeting, they don't protect against the cold. lots of children are

telling me that they can't sleep at night, they don't protect against the rain, the conditions are highly unsanitary. gaza is littered with garbage in all cities i have been to, from gaza city in the north to rafa in the south, there is open sewage, rubble everywhere. in the south, in khan younis and rafah, it is like an earthquake. it is dangerous environment for children and the needs are incredibly high. besides shelter and the diseases that are spreading, there is also very important needs related to nutrition. hunger has been severe throughout gaza. the risk of famine has been looming over the north but hunger has also been severe in the southern and central parts. families have lived off canned

food and bread for over a year. many families have also been dependent on soup kitchens and bakeries. i have seen children queueing there, fighting with each other, fighting with adults over a loaf of bread. so there is a dire need of everything today in gaza. my colleagues have been working literally around the clock to accelerate the inflow of aid supplies. and we have seen a steep increase of the supplies coming into gaza since the ceasefire has taken effect. they supplies are picked about the crossing point, brought to warehouses and then they are distributed to families in need. so that has been set in motion now and that is very, very important. it is important that that is maintained, that that that is maintained, that that inflow is to sustain. but equally we now need the private

sector as well to come in because the needs are so high. we really need all hands on deck. humanitarian aid on its own will not be able to sustain a population of over 2 million people. it is meant as a supplement. we need the commercial sector as well to bring supplies in. the second swap of the deal has also broughtjoy to israel. these are the four female israeli soldiers, aged 19 and 20, being reunited with their families before being taken to hospital. in the last hour, dr lena koren feldman, director of beilinson hospital, delivered a statement on the newly released hostages. this is a moment that all of us have longed for.

after an initial medical assessment, iam pleased to report that their medical condition is stable and we are here to provide them with the necessary care and emotional support. i had the honour of meeting them as they descended from the helicopter. i must say the excitement is overwhelming. i was amazed by their strength. these are resilient women who bravely survived long days of torment. they are here with us, strong and remarkable and expected. the prolonged captivity in harsh conditions is evident. our professional team, which has prepared for this moment for months, will continue to support them in comprehensive medical and emotional evaluation. that is the doctor giving the

statement in the last hour or so. let's take you live now to the scene at hostage square wake and see many israelis, including family members of the hostages still waiting to be released. that is a focal point where the families of hostages have been gathering and holding rallies for weeks now. there is another rally taking place this evening and today, many of them were watching and waiting as they were —— there were big screens showing the hostage release that we showed you a bit earlier. the fourth only lima female —— the four female hostages released today. as you can see, there are still many people waiting and gathering with flags ahead of the value thatis with flags ahead of the value that is due to take place. at hostage square is where my colleague nick beake is and he was there earlier speaking to

michael levy, who is the brother of or levy. they arrived at the supernova festival just arrived at the supernova festivaljust before arrived at the supernova festival just before the arrived at the supernova festivaljust before the attack began. they sought refuge in shelter but hamas forces entered and killed her. as the violence unfolded, they sought refuge in a shelter, but hamas forces entered and killed eynav. 0r, who has a young son named almog, survived the attack but was kidnapped by hamas. got there at 6:20am together with his wife zainab. they left their then two—year—old son at home with his grandparents, and then a few minutes before, 0r called us from inside the bomb shelter, they ran into a bomb shelter. he was completely terrified and just repeated the sentence — "mum, you don't want to know what's going on here." and a few minutes after, a group of terrorists arrived and started throwing grenades. they sprayed the bomb shelter with bullets. they even fired an rpg into it.

murdering her and or was kidnapped. your sister—in—law was killed, your brother taken hostage. when you see what happened today, the greatjoy of the four women being released, how does it leave you? i'd imagine conflicting emotions. very conflicting emotions. on one hand, you're happy because those families became my family, they became part of us. so i'm happy, almost as if it's my own family. but on the other hand, there are still 90 hostages back in gaza, including my brother. and you cannotjust rest and hope for the best. you have to keep fighting to get them all released. now, your brother, or, is one of the 33 hostages who are supposed to be released in this first phase of the ceasefire. so for you, there is

hope there after these 15 months of anguish? once again, on the one hand, you have a lot of hope because you finally have an end date to this nightmare. but at the same time, we remember that we are dealing with monsters. hamas will do everything they can to make us suffer and to stop this deal in any kind of excuse. and they did it before and we are afraid they will do it again. so we cannotjust be calm and hope for the best. like i said, we have to keep going until he's here, because i won't believe it's actually happening until i'll hug him with my own hands. you've been waiting for news, and actually you've come here speaking to us this evening as we wait any moment, really, for hamas to release this list of the remaining 26 hostages due for release in this first phase. hamas is supposed to be saying whether these people are alive or dead,

including your brother. i mean, an incredibly difficult moment for you. i keep saying, it's like a reality that the devil himself invented. that's how we feel. part of an evil reality show that hamas is enjoying. they are, like i said, they will do everything to make us suffer. and i hope we'll get this list soon and we'll know who's alive and who isn't. and hopefully we can put an end to it soon. your little nephew, just three and a half years old, his dad has been taken hostage, his mother was killed. people will probably want to know, how is he possibly doing at this moment?

so most of the time, he's a normal three—and—a—half—year—old boy. he'ss happy. he's happy. he's enjoying himself. he's doing things he isn't supposed to do, but there are a lot of moments where he misses them. when he whenever he sees a woman with a long hair with long hair, he asks if she'll pick him up because this is what his mum used to do. he keeps asking if or is really coming back. he cries when he sees parents coming to pick up their kids from kindergarten. he misses them. he misses 0r. he wants to be a normal kid. michael levy speaking to our middle east correspondent nick beake there in tel aviv. let's bring you some other news now, and in the united states, pete hegseth has been sworn in as donald trump's secretary of defense. his appointment follows a tie—break vote

in the senate in which vice presidentjd vance cast the deciding vote in hegseth's favou. three republican senators — including former senate majority leader mitch mcconnell — voted against him. during hegseth's confirmation hearing, he faced multiple questions about an allegation of sexual assault, which he has denied, as well as infidelity and drinking. and the three principles i talked about is what we will bring to the pentagon. rebuild our military and re—establish deterrence. we don't want to fight wars, we want to deter them, as we say and we want to end the responsibility. but if we need to fight them, we will bring overwhelming and decisive force to destroy the enemy. when i compete hex affair. the us state department has halted spending on almost all foreign aid projects, with exceptions for israel and egypt, according to an internal memo sent to officials and us embassies abroad. a review is set to be carried out over the next three months. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello. storm eowyn has been clearing away northwards, leaving most of us with a better looking day today. certainly calmer than it was yesterday for this weather watcher in fife. a little bit of sunshine overhead as well. something wintry on the ground for this weather watcher in enniskillen. but tomorrow, things go downhillagain, particularly across southern and western parts with some wet and windy weather. so yesterday's storm system clearing away northwards. you can see the swirl of cloud on the satellite picture. this little band of cloud is moving eastwards right now, bringing some hefty showers. this shield of cloud is another developing low and that will start to influence our weather from tomorrow. but for the time being, through tonight, this band of hefty showers continues to journey eastwards. some wintriness in the showers across the north, particularly in scotland, where things will also be quite icy and it will be pretty windy for a time across the north west corner of scotland. temperatures widely dropping

close to freezing below close to freezing, below freezing in places. a little bit milder you'll notice, though, down to the far southwest, ahead of the arrival of this next area of low pressure. now, this looks like a pretty deep low, and it has been named not by the uk met office, but by the spanish weather service. it's been named storm herminia for impacts it is going to have in spain, but i suspect it will also have some impact here because tomorrow we will see outbreaks of heavy rain driving northeastwards across england, wales, northern ireland into southern scotland. bit of snow over high ground. northern scotland staying mostly fine but with a few showers. but it is going to be windy for parts of northern ireland, western coasts of england and wales, down along the south coast as well. gusts of 50, 60, 70mph in the most exposed spots, so that could cause some issues and temperatures of four to ten degrees. and instead of clearing through quickly, this area of low pressure isjust going to spin close to the uk as we move out of sunday and on into monday. so for monday itself, we will see further showers

or longer spells of rain. some places, particularly say parts of wales, central and southern england, could have enough rain to give some flooding issues. it's still going to be pretty windy. gales around some exposed coasts and temperatures in many spots around five to nine degrees. stays unsettled through tuesday into wednesday. things then look like they will calm down for the end of the week.

this is bbc news, the headlines. israel has released 200 palestinian prisoners in return for four female soldiers held by hamas, in the second exchange of the gaza ceasefire deal. the four israeli soldiers released were first led onto a podium in gaza city surrounded by dozens of armed hamas fighters. once back in israel, the women were reunited with their loved ones, the soldiers were captured in the october seventh attack 15 months ago, they were seized from an army base on the border with gaza. meanwhile, in gaza, palestinians are queuing to return to their homes but this isn't guaranteed after hamas failed to release a civilian hostage today. now it's time for a look at today's sport with the bbc sportscentre. hello. it's been another excellent day

for leaders, liverpool as they move a step closer to winning the english premier league title. they beat struggling ipswich 4—1 at anfield. cody gakpo scored twice for the home side, whilst dominik szoboszlai