Live updates: Crowds gather in Gaza ahead of expected release of four Israeli hostages

After 15 months of war in Gaza, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement to end fighting in the region on January 15. Four days later, the first three hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were released, marking the start of the ceasefire.

The agreement is divided into three phases.

THE first phase will see 33 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza exchanged for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners who are in Israeli prisons – this process is expected to last around six weeks.

Phase two – which will take place 16 days after the start of phase one – is then expected to see the remaining hostages released and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops.

THE third and final stage will involve the return of the bodies of any remaining hostages who died in captivity and the reconstruction of Gaza, which is expected to take years.

More than 46,870 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli army launched a campaign to destroy Hamas after the October 7 attack, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Around 1,200 people were killed in the attack and 251 were taken hostage.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced. Some began to return to their neighborhoods, but much of the strip was destroyed by Israel’s military campaign.