Four female Israeli soldier hostages handed over by Hamas under Gaza ceasefire
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Hamas has handed over four female Israeli soldiers held in Gaza, as Palestinians in the West Bank await the release of detainees, in the second release of a fragile ceasefire.
Karina Ariev, 20, Daniela Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19, were all stationed at an observation post on the edge of Gaza when they were abducted by Hamas fighters who overran their base during the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. A Palestinian source told Reuters that one of the soldiers was being held by Islamic Jihad.
In a clear show of force on Saturday morning, dozens of masked and armed Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants gathered at Palestine Square in Gaza City, where Red Cross vehicles pulled up to carry out the transfer.
The militants set up a podium in Palestine Square where representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross signed documents confirming the handover, as thousands cheered from the crowd.
The women, wearing khaki-coloured military-style clothing, were walked by Hamas fighters onto the stage, where they gave thumbs-up gestures, peace signs, smiled, and waved at the crowd.
The Israeli military later confirmed that the hostages had been transferred and that they are now in Israel. After being reunited with their family at an Israeli military base near the Gaza border, the four will be taken to a hospital in central Israel, the Israeli health ministry said.
Following their release, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Hamas has not abided with the ceasefire agreement to release Israeli civilians first.
In Hostages Square, relatives of the captives and their supporters burst into tears, clapped, and hugged each other when the women entered the Red Cross vehicles.
Family members whose loved ones remain hostages but were not included in this phase of the release celebrated the release but told The Independent they felt mixed emotions.
Alana Zeitchik, who had six family members in total seized by Hamas on 7 October bloody attacks, said she was โholding onโ.
Four of her captured relatives, including a cousin and her three-year-old twin daughters, were released in the last deal in November 2023. But Alanaโs cousin David Cunio, 34, and his brother Ariel Cunio, 27 โ both civilians โ are not on the list of the first 33 to be released in the initial six-week phase. Alana is anxiously waiting to see if negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire might start.
โItโs not easy. Itโs like pulling nails one by one,โ she said.
Hamas, meanwhile, said that 200 Palestinian prisoners would be freed on Saturday as part of the exchange, including members of Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), some of whom are serving life sentences for deadly attacks in Israel.
Around 70 prisoners will be deported, Hamas added. A Palestinian official close to the talks told Reuters that some of the freed prisoners will be released into Egypt. Some of them will stay in Egypt, while others may go on to Algeria, Qatar, or Turkey.
Crowds gathered around the release point anxiously waiting news.
Aman Nafe, the wife of the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner, Nael Barghouti, who has spent more than 40 years in Israeli jails, said that she had been told her husband was on the list to be released in the coming weeks but also that would likely be deported.
She told The Independent she was worried her husband might refuse to be part of the deal if the condition of release included being deported and removed from his home and family.
The four Israeli soldiers released on Saturday were captured on 7 October 2023, when Hamas militants stormed southern Israel taking over 250 hostages and killed over 1,200 people. That triggered Israelโs devastating offensive in Gaza, which Palestinian officials say has killed over 47,000 people and displaced more than 90 percent of the population.
The four soldiers were taken from Nahal Oz base near the border with Gaza when Palestinian militants overran it, killing more than 60 soldiers there.
The women 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 was not included in the list.
Footage showing the capture of the five at the military base was broadcast on Israeli television last year after their families gave permission in a bid to increase awareness and build pressure to get them back.
Looking dazed and still wearing their pyjamas, the images, taken from Hamas bodycam footage recovered by the Israeli military, showed them sitting on the floor with their hands tied, some of them bloodied.
When the ceasefire started on Sunday, three hostages held by the militants were released in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children.
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.
After the swap on Saturday, Israel is expected to begin pulling back from the Netzarim corridor โ an east-west road dividing Gaza in two โ 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. Palestinians will only be allowed to move north on foot, with vehicular traffic restricted until later in the ceasefire.
