Evening recap

Our liveblog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

- Hamas has released four female Israeli soldiers who had been held captive since 7 October 2023. The soldiers stood on a podium in front of a crowd before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Israel, in return, freed 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of its ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Bus convoys carrying the released prisoners arrived in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

- Some Palestinian prisoners were released into Gaza where they were received at the European Hospital, but up to 70 of the 200 released overall were expelled by Israel into Egypt as part of their release agreement. 

- Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement by freeing Israeli female soldiers before releasing all the female civilians. But Hamas said that Israeli civilian captive Arbel Yehud, who was expected to be released Saturday, is alive and will be freed in a week.

- Israeli forces shot at crowds of Palestinians that gathered near the Netzarim Corridor - a crossing point created by the Israeli army that separates north and south Gaza - in hopes of eventually returning to the north. Israel said it was retaliation for Hamas not releasing Yehud. 

- US President Donald Trump took credit for securing the release of the four Israeli soldiers freed by Hamas in Gaza in the second prisoner swap, and that he will continue to pursue "peace throughout the region," a statement released by the White House showed on Saturday. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is widely credited for pressuring the Israelis to accept the ceasefire deal. 

- At the same time, Trump instructed the US military to release a hold imposed by the Biden administration on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, a White House source told the Reuters news agency on Saturday.

- The Arab American Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) said in a statement Saturday that is has received several reports of pro-Israeli groups targeting international students in a bid to have them deported from the US. This follows an Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday that makes reference to the extreme vetting and banning of foreign nationals if they appear to harbour negative feelings toward American interests or "culture". 

- The Electronic Intifada announced on Saturday that its executive director Ali Abunimah has been arrested in Switzerland while in the country for a speaking tour. "He is currently being detained and has had access to legal counsel," the site reported.