The hostage exchange is the second since the current ceasefire agreement. It is expected that by the end of the first phase of the deal's completion, 33 Israeli hostages will have been freed in exchange for the release of around 1,900 Palestinian detainees.

The family of Liri Albag, one of the four hostages released by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Saturday, have expressed their joy at being reunited with the 19-year-old soldier. "A sense of relief and happiness envelops us after 477 long and unbearable days of nerve-racking waiting.

Hamas on Friday announced the names of four Israeli women soldiers to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas has named 4 female Israeli soldiers it says will be freed as part of the second hostage-prisoner swap, as the Gaza ceasefire endures.

The hostages were released in a staged handover that saw them surrounded by Hamas gunmen and crowds of civilians.

The Palestinian militant movement Hamas is expected to release four female Israeli soldiers on Saturday in exchange for a group of Palestinian prisoners under a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the 15-month-old war in Gaza.