Gaza ceasefire latest: Emotional reunions after Palestinians released by Israel - amid optimism as ceasefire enters second day

Released hostage is 'happiest girl in the world', says her mother

We've just heard from the mother of Emily Damari - the British-Israeli hostage who was released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire deal yesterday. 

Mandy Damari said her daughter is the "happiest girl in the world" after returning home after more than 15 months in captivity. 

"Yesterday, I was finally able to give Emily the hug that I have been dreaming of," she added. 

"In Emily's own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back. 

"I am also happy that during her release, the world was given a glimpse of her feisty and charismatic personality." 

She said the 28-year-old was "doing much better than any of us could ever have anticipated". 

"As wonderful as it is to see Emily's resilience, these are still early days. As you will have seen yesterday, Emily lost two of the fingers on her left hand," she added.

"She now needs time with her loved ones and her doctors as she begins her road to recovery." 

She thanked those involved in bringing Emily home, saying: "You are all Emily's family". 

Despite her happiness, she called for the ceasefire to continue and for "every last hostage" to be returned to their families. 

Emily Damari in 'much better condition' than expected and doing 'really, really well', says family friend

Our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall is in Tel Aviv this morning where he has been speaking to a family friend of Emily Damari - the British-Israeli hostage who was freed by Hamas yesterday. 

Emily Cohen said it was an "absolute dream come true" to see the 28-year-old return home. 

"She is doing really, really well," she added, saying she was in a "much better condition" than her family were anticipating. 

Describing Damari, Cohen said: "Just a feisty, lioness fighter, all the way through, maintaining her incredible sense of humour and beautiful spirit." 

Recalling the moment she saw her pull up in an ambulance, she said it was the "most incredible moment" of her life. 

"You saw Emily stick her head out of the ambulance window and wolf whistle at all of her friends. They all went crazy and it was very, very special," she added. 

Damari was reunited with her family yesterday, and appeared in photos with one hand bandaged and two fingers missing.

But Cohen said physically, she seems to be "okay". 

"Obviously, the hand injury is very significant. There was absolutely no care or treatment," she added. 

She noted that Damari was held in Gaza with two other hostages, who were also released yesterday - Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher. 

While she said she didn't know much about the conditions they were held in, she explained that there were moved around a lot, maybe 15 or 20 times. 

"They were above ground, below ground, in tunnels, in houses. I don't really know more than that at the moment," Cohen said. 

Despite her celebrating Damari's return, Cohen said it is "bittersweet" as 94 hostages are still trapped in Gaza. 

'I'm back to my beloved life', says freed British-Israeli hostage

Freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari has thanked God for returning her to her "beloved life", in a statement posted on Instagram.

Damari was among the first hostages released under the ceasefire agreement yesterday, after being captured by Hamas on 7 October 2023.

In a post on a plain black background on her Instagram story, she thanked her family and the "best friends I have in this world". 

"Thank you, the happiest in the world just to be," she added. 

She ended the post with a hand emoji - yesterday she was photographed with two fingers missing and a bandage wrapped around her hand.  

British-Israeli hostage was 'shot in the hand and leg', says lawyer

British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari was shot in the hand and leg during the 7 October Hamas attacks, her lawyer has said. 

Damari was reunited with her family yesterday after being held in captivity for more than 15 months.

Speaking to LBC this morning, her representative Adam Rose said it was "both a remarkable time and a troubling time".

"It's incredibly challenging what they've gone through. We know from hostages who've been released in earlier rounds of ceasefires in November 2023 that some of them just picked themselves up and got on with lives, and some of them have been really deeply scarred by what they experienced," he added. 

He also spoke to BBC Breakfast, where he said Damari was doing "remarkably well". 

"She was taken on the 7th October 2023, she was shot in the hand, and she seems to have lost two of her fingers. She was shot in the leg. The family dog was killed," he added. 

France to 'keep fighting' for release of French-Israeli nationals

France will keep fighting to obtain the release of the two French Israeli nationals held by Hamas, the country's foreign minister has said. 

"We will continue to fight until the last hour for their release," Jean-Noel Barrot told BFM TV. 

He said France had "no news on their health status nor on the terms of their detention".

Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners yesterday - the first day of the ceasefire. 

French-Israeli nationals Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi are expected to be on the list of 33 hostages to be freed in the first phase of the deal. 

Drone footage reveals scale of devastation in Gaza

While people celebrated the return of 90 Palestinian prisoners, many of them were coming home to a Gaza that had been reduced to rubble. 

Gaza's Hamas-led government estimates that 14 in every 15 homes have been damaged, with five destroyed. 

The UN estimates that 69% of buildings have been damaged, with one in four (24%) totally destroyed.

The destruction has left the Gaza Strip littered with an estimated 42 million tonnes of debris, the equivalent of 180 Wembley stadiums.

ICRC describes 'complex' operation to transfer hostages and prisoners

The International Committee of the Red Cross has been helping Israel and Gaza to facilitate the release of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages. 

The organisation is considered to be a "neutral actor" that helps to ensure arrangements set out in the ceasefire deal take place. 

In a statement released after the first day of the ceasefire, it said the operation had been "complex", with teams overcoming several challenges. 

"Navigating large crowds and heightened emotions posed challenges during the transfers, and in Gaza, ICRC teams had to manage the dangers posed by unexploded ordnances and destroyed infrastructure," it said. 

"More families are waiting anxiously for their loved ones to come home," ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said.

"We call on all parties to continue to adhere to their commitments to ensure the next operations can take place safely." 

Celebrations break out as Palestinian prisoners released

Crowds of Palestinians thronged the buses filled with released prisoners as they celebrated their return from Israel. 

Despite the Israeli military warning people not to celebrate publicly, they waved flags, set off fireworks and cheered on the streets. 

Masked militants appeared at some celebrations, where crowds chanted slogans in support of them, according to Associated Press reporters in Gaza. 

'A good first day of the ceasefire'

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has said his teams on the ground reported "a good first day of the ceasefire" in Gaza. 

Philippe Lazzarini said aid and some commercial goods had started "flowing in smoothly" but urged for Israel and Hamas to make sure the ceasefire continues to hold. 

"After 470+ days, the people of Gaza hear the sound of children playing instead of bombardments and airstrikes," he added. 

"The ceasefire must continue to hold and all elements of the agreement must be implemented. 

"We will spare no effort to alleviate the immense suffering and scale up the humanitarian delivery." 

Who is the Palestinian political leader that has been freed?

The most prominent Palestinian prisoner to be released under the Gaza ceasefire deal so far is Khalida Jarrar. 

The 62-year-old is a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who has been in and out of prison for years. 

The political group is a secular leftist faction that was involved in attacks against Israel in the 1970s. 

It later scaled back its militant activities. 

Jarrar was arrested in late 2023 and has been held under indefinitely renewable administrative detention - a widely criticised practice that Israel uses against Palestinians.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said Jarrar's repeated arrests are part of Israel's wider crackdown on non-violent political opposition.

After being released, she told reporters: "There's this double feeling we're living in, on the one hand, this feeling of freedom, that we thank everyone for, and on the other hand, this pain, of losing so many Palestinian martyrs." 

Fireworks explode in the sky as celebrations break out - but this isn't what Israel wanted

The streets of Beitunia were flooded with people as fireworks exploded in the night sky.

After hours of delays, the buses carrying some of the 90 Palestinians slowly made their way through the crowds.

As released prisoners disembarked in the early hours of the morning, they were mobbed by patient family members and loved ones - swept along in the pure joy of the moment.

Israel didn't want these displays of jubilation – it doesn't like the release of prisoners to be used as a sign of victory for Hamas.

Over the next six weeks, nearly 2,000 prisoners will be released. About 100 of them are serving life sentences for violent attacks on Israelis.

But most of those freed on day one had been held without charge or were convicted of lesser crimes.

Palestinian teacher and activist Hadeel Shatara had been held without charge for seven months by Israel in administrative detention.

"There's no case against me. There's a secret file against me so I really don’t know what I did," she told Sky News.

"So they put you for a renewable six months, telling you that there's a secret file against you, we cannot tell you what you did but you’re going to stay behind bars," she said she was told.

For Palestinians, the prisoner embodies resistance against Israel's military occupation. They accuse the Jewish state of using imprisonment as a way of controlling and pacifying the population as settlements expand on the land.

But the images of prisoners being released will cause anger in Israel, especially amongst those who view the ceasefire deal as a surrender to Hamas - the perpetrators of the 7 October terror attack.

These scenes will though be repeated in the weeks ahead, providing of course that the fragile ceasefire deal survives.

Body of Israeli soldier rescued in covert operation, says IDF

The body of an Israeli soldier was rescued from Gaza yesterday, the Israel Defence Forces has said.

In a statement, the military said Sergeant Oron Shaul died during a battle in the 2014 Gaza War - known as Operation Protective Edge - and his body was kidnapped by Hamas. 

"In a special covert operation by IDF and Shin Bet forces, the abducted soldier, Sergeant Oron Shaul, was rescued yesterday," it said. 

Sergeant Shaul's family was visited by members of the IDF, who described him as a "heroic and brave soldier". 

-SKY NEWS