Hamas frees 4 female Israeli soldiers in Gaza ceasefire swap for 200 prisoners
TEL AVIV, Israel - Hamas militants released four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City on Saturday after parading them in front of a crowd.
Israel followed with the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The four Israeli soldiers 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. They include 120 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.
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Thousands of Palestinians gathered in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah to celebrate the arrival of buses carrying the prisoners. Many waved Palestinian flags or the flags of different political factions.
Who are the soldiers and prisoners being released?
What we know:
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.
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People wait for the arrival of the helicopter with the four released hostages at Bellinson hospital in Petah Tikvah on January 25, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Today brings the release of four more Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, the second such
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. The female abductees had all served in a unit of lookouts charged with monitoring threats along the border. A fifth female soldier in their unit, Agam Berger, 20, was abducted with them but not included in the list.
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.
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What we don't know:
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.
Israel insists on the release of a civilian hostage
What they're saying:
Netanyahu's office later said that Arbel Yehoud, a civilian hostage held by Hamas, was supposed to have been released Saturday. It said Israel would not allow Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which had been expected to begin by Sunday, until she is freed.
The other side:
A senior Hamas official said the group has informed mediators that Yehoud will be released next week.
Local perspective:
As the four Israeli soldiers 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’m speechless," said Aviv Bercovich, one of the onlookers. "I had goosebumps watching them. I just want the war to end."
"This is huge," said Gaza City resident Radwan Abu Rawiya, one of thousands who watched the hostages turned over in Palestine Square.
"People forgot about the war, destruction and are celebrating," he said.
What's next in the ceasefire deal
What's next:
Israel had been expected to begin pulling back from the Netzarim corridor — an east-west road dividing Gaza in two — and allowing displaced Palestinians in the south to return to their former homes in the north for the first time since the beginning of the war.
But that appears to be on hold pending the release of Yehoud.
The Hamas-run interior ministry said earlier said that displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to northern Gaza starting Sunday. The ministry, which oversees police forces, said Palestinians will be able to move between southern and northern Gaza on foot through the coastal Rashid road.
Israeli hostages released by Hamas
Israel Defense Forces said in a statement, "According to information received from the Red Cross, 3 Israeli hostages were transferred to the Red Cross and they are on their way toward IDF and ISA forces in Gaza." Three hostages were released on Sunday amid the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
What happens after the deal’s initial six-week phase is uncertain, but many hope it will lead to the end of a war that has leveled wide swaths of Gaza, displaced the vast majority of its population and left hundreds of thousands of people at risk of famine.
The backstory:
The conflict began with a cross-border attack led by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 others hostage.
More than 100 hostages were freed in a weeklong truce the following month. But dozens have remained in captivity for over a year with no contact with the outside world. Israel believes at least a third of the more than 90 captives still inside Gaza were killed in the initial attack or died in captivity.
While many rejoiced in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square after the four soldiers were released Saturday, some worried about the fate of those still in captivity.
"It’s hard that she’s still there," said Yoni Collins, a family friend of Berger, the fifth female soldier taken from Nahal Oz base.
"There were five girls, four are out and now she’s there alone," he said. "We’re just waiting for her to come home."
Israel's air and ground war, one of the deadliest and most destructive in decades, has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were militants. They say women and children make up more than half the fatalities.
The Source: The Associated Press contributed to this report. The information in this story comes from a combination of official statements, such as those from Israel's Prime Minister’s office, the Israeli Prison Service, and Egypt's state-run Qahera TV, as well as eyewitness accounts from individuals in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. This story was reported from Los Angeles.