Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas were released in Gaza City on Saturday, following a fragile ceasefire agreement with Israel. The militants paraded the hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross, in exchange for the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners, including 121 serving life sentences.
Hamas militants have handed over four Israel i hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza City. The four female Israel i soldiers, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag, were paraded in front of a crowd of thousands in Gaza City before being handed over to the Red Cross . This follows a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which saw Israel release 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages.
The four Israelis smiled broadly as they waved and gave the thumbs-up from a stage in Gaza City's Palestine Square, militants on either side of them and a crowd of thousands watching before they were led off to waiting Red Cross vehicles. They were likely acting under duress, with previously released hostages saying they were held in brutal conditions and forced to record propaganda videos. Israel's Prison Service later said it had completed the release of 200 Palestinians, including 121 who had been serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. Around 70 were released into Egypt, according to Egypt's state-run Qahera TV. Egypt had served as a key mediator in the talks that led to the truce. Thousands of Palestinians gathered in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah to celebrate the arrival of buses carrying the prisoners, waving Palestinian flags or the flags of different political factions. As the four Israelis were released, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square where they were watching the drama unfold on a big screen television. 'I had goosebumps watching them,' said Aviv Bercovich, one of the onlookers. 'I just want the war to end.' The freed hostages were taken to an Israeli army base, where they were reunited with their parents, and could be seen in pictures hugging them emotionally. As they arrived by helicopter to a Tel Aviv hospital, thousands of people dancing and celebrating outside looked up to see them land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office later said Israel would not allow displaced Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which had been expected to begin by Sunday, because a civilian hostage who was supposed to be released by Hamas had not been freed. It said Israel would not allow Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza until Arbel Yehoud was freed. A senior Hamas official said the group has informed mediators that Yehoud will be released next week. Meanwhile, an Egyptian official involved in the negotiations called the matter a 'minor issue' that mediators are working to resolve. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. It was the second such exchange between Israel and Hamas since a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip last weekend. The excitement in Israel was palpable, with TV stations filled with live reports from smiling news anchors and reporters interviewing ecstatic friends and relatives of the hostages. The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the militant group. The fragile deal has so far held, quieting airstrikes and rockets and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory. When the ceasefire started Sunday, three hostages held by the militants were released in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children. The four Israeli soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Albag, 19, were captured in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. In exchange, Israel agreed to release 200 prisoners, including 121 who were serving life sentences, according to a list released by Hamas. The more notorious militants being released include Mohammad Odeh, 52, and Wael Qassim, 54, both from east Jerusalem. They were accused of carrying out a series of deadly Hamas attacks against Israelis, including a bombing at a cafeteria at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2002 that killed nine people, including five U.S. citizens. Of the 70 who were expelled to Egypt, some may eventually go to other countries, with Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey all expressing a willingness to take them in, according to Abdullah al-Zaghari, the head of a Palestinian prisoner advocacy group. The four Israeli soldiers released were taken from Nahal Oz base near the border with Gaza when Palestinian militants overran it, killing more than 60 soldiers there. A fifth female soldier in their unit, Agam Berger, 20, was abducted with them but not included in the list. 'This is huge,' said Gaza City resident Radwan Abu Rawiya, one of thousands who watched the hostages turned over in Palestine Square. In a televised statement, Israel's army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari criticized what he called the 'cynical' public display of the young women by Hamas before their release
Hamas Israel Hostages Ceasefire Gaza Prisoners Release Red Cross
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