Gaza ceasefire latest: Emotional reunions after Palestinians released by Israel - as freed British-Israeli hostage speaks of joy

Hamas police stand guard on streets of Gaza

It's the second day of the Gaza ceasefire, and so far, it seems to be holding. 

On the streets of the destroyed enclave, Hamas police have been deployed to maintain order. 

Surrounding them is the rubble of destroyed buildings, and locals attempting to get back to life as normal. 

Iran-backed group say it will limit its attacks in the Red Sea corridor

Yemen's Houthi rebels have said they will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships following the start of the ceasefire in Gaza. 

The Iran-backed group made the announcement in an email sent to shipping officials and others on Sunday.

The Houthis, through their Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centre, said it was "stopping sanctions" on the other vessels it has previously targeted since it started attacks in November 2023.

Around 100 merchant vessels have been targeted with by the Houthis using missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023. 

The group have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors.

Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets. 

Freed hostages given 'gift bags' from Hamas

The three Israeli hostages freed by Hamas appeared to be given "gift bags" upon their release yesterday. 

Footage released by the militant group showed Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Dteinbrecher being handed brown bags with the logo of the armed wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, on the front.

They were passed the bags through the window of a vehicle. 

The Israel Defence Forces also released footage of the three women leaving a vehicle holding a similar shaped bag, but the logo had been blurred in the clip. 

According to Israeli media, the bag contained a map of Gaza, photos of the hostages will in captivity and a "certificate of appreciation".  

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. 

-SKY NEWS