Good morning. It's just turned 07:00 here in Tel Aviv, and the ceasefire is due to begin now. Israeli forces will be given orders to hold fire, and it will begin a four day process in which hostages will be released from the Gaza Strip. The first of those hostages, a group of 13, we understand, will be released at 04:00 this afternoon. They will be escorted out of Gaza by the International Red Cross and then handed over to Israeli soldiers who will take them to secure military facilities where they will be able to receive medical attention and maybe in time, if they are up to it, debriefed by the Israeli military. Women and children, the first families have been told, they were informed last night that their loved ones are expected to come out today. If it goes well today, another twelve or 13 will be released tomorrow. So it will bring some relief to Israel as this war that's been going on for almost seven weeks now, and particularly the hostage situation, has been very traumatic for the Israeli public. We are in central Tel Aviv, in the Museum Plaza that's been renamed Hostage Freedom Square, and this is where there's been a permanent vigil held for the now 240 hostages being held in Gaza.

Their faces on posters with the hashtag Bring Them Home, but also a table laid for a shabbat dinner with empty chairs for each one of those who are being held. It will also bring relief for civilians in Gaza who have been living under seven weeks of heavy bombardment, and it'll be an opportunity to bring in humanitarian aid. We expect around 200 trucks will be entering Gaza every single day, including fuel, and it will be vital medical, food and other supplies in order to try and relieve some of the humanitarian cris there. And in exchange for the 50 Israeli hostages, 150 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails. Women and children, but mainly people under the age of 19, will also be released as part of this exchange.

Alastair, this has been delayed by 24 hours, as we know what's the sense for people on the ground and how they're feeling about what might happen later this afternoon.

I think everybody is aware that the ceasefire is very fragile and it would not take much to disrupt it further. But after that 24 hours delay through yesterday, which was an agonizing delay for the families waiting for news of their loved ones, it looks now that we are finally at the moment where there will be, after seven weeks of fighting, a ceasefire in Gaza. And I think both sides want the opportunity. The Israelis, of course, want the opportunity to be able to bring out some of their hostages, but let's make no bones about it. Hamas will also want the opportunity to regroup, take a bit of a breather and rearm, because Israelis have been very, very clear this is just a temporary ceasefire in their opinion, the fighting will resume whenever the ceasefire is over. It's initially been agreed for four days, but the Israelis have said to Hamas via mediators, that for every ten further hostages that they agree to release, israel will agree to a further 24 hours ceasefire.

And, Alastair, we're just seeing on the screen right now in the garden, strip smoke billowing into the sky. We don't have any confirmed reports of what that might be, but this, as you say, it's quite a sensitive time with fighting potentially starting at any point.

There's been some very heavy fighting overnight. This is what we often see. But when you get close to ceasefires is both sides up the intensity of their operations in order to try and improve their positions ahead of a ceasefire. So I think that was what we would expect. But when you consider a group like Hamas, which does not have necessarily a single military command structure, it means that this ceasefire could be very fragile if one group elates it at some point over the coming hours.