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Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas returned to Israel, while 200 Palestinian prisoners were freed on Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal in Gaza that ended more than 15 months of war.
The truce took effect last Sunday with the release three Israeli civilian hostages and 90 Palestinian detainees.
The four soldiers — Liri Albag, 19, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Karina Ariev, 20, and Naama Levy, 20 — were captured from a military outpost on the Israel-Gaza border during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the conflict. Their freedom has become a central demand of the hostage-free movement that has rallied around the families of those still trapped in Gaza.
Hamas gunmen initially handed the group over to Red Cross personnel in Gaza City’s Palestine Square, amid a gathering of hundreds of uniformed and armed militants and cheering spectators waving the group’s green flag.
Four Israeli women marched across the square to a small stage with a banner in Hebrew that read “Zionism will not win.” After briefly waving to the crowd, they were ushered into Red Cross vehicles.
The Red Cross drove the four to a transfer point where they were handed over to Israeli special forces and intelligence agents who then returned them to Israeli territory. The women were later airlifted to a hospital in the center of the country, where they will stay with their families for the next few days while receiving medical care.
After arriving in Israel, 200 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails – most to the occupied West Bank, 20 to Gaza and several dozen to Egypt where they were expected to go into exile in a third country.
“Today we forced the criminal occupier to open the doors of his prison cells to our heroic prisoners,” Hamas said. “This is our pledge to them for freedom and to our people to continue walking together on the path of independence and self-determination.”
This second installment of hostage-prisoner releases was momentarily called into question on Friday night after Hamas announced that four soldiers would be freed.
Israeli officials argued that this violated the terms of the agreement, which calls for the civilian women still alive – one of whom is believed to remain in captivity – to be released before the soldiers. The Israeli government has decided to move forward, however, and it remains unclear whether the civilian, Arbel Yehud, will be released as part of next week’s exchange.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said until the issue of her release was “sorted out” he would not allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the northern Gaza Strip – a move expected to begin later Saturday.
Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said: “We appreciate and thank the efforts of all international mediators . . . we expect them to make sure that Hamas complies with the agreement.”
US-led mediators secured a six-week truce between Israel and Hamas this month, the first phase of a complex three-phase deal that could permanently end the war and secure the release of the remaining 90 hostages held by Hamas.
Donald Trump has warned there will be “hell to pay” if a deal is not reached before his inauguration on Monday. On Friday, the new US president said: “He should keep the deal, but if he doesn’t, there will be a lot of problems.”
The first phase of the deal involves the release of 33 Israeli hostages – including children, women, the sick and the elderly – in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, hundreds of whom are serving long sentences on terrorism and murder charges. Releases should occur in weekly installments over the 42 days of the first phase.
During this time, Israeli troops will withdraw from populated areas in the devastated territory, and displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to their homes. Humanitarian aid entering the belt has already increased sharply over the past week.
By the 16th day of the first phase, Israel and Hamas are due to begin negotiations on the details of the second phase, when the remaining live hostages will be released in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a further withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a complete end to the war. The final phase will involve the return of the bodies of the dead hostages and the beginning of the reconstruction of Gaza.
