Hamas Frees 4 Female Israeli Soldiers As Part Of GAZA Ceasefire In Exchange For 200 Prisoners – The National

Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas returned to Israel on Saturday after the militants paraded them before a crowd of thousands in Gaza City and then handed them over to the Red Cross. In exchange, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of a fragile truce in the Gaza Strip.

The four Israelis smiled broadly as they waved and gave thumbs up from a stage in Gaza City’s Palestine Square to militants on both sides and crowds of thousands watching before being led 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 film propaganda videos.

The Israeli prison service later announced that it had completed the release of 200 Palestinians. They included 121 serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. About 70 were released to Egypt, according to Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV. Egypt served as a key mediator in the talks that led to the ceasefire.

Thousands of Palestinians gathered in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah to celebrate the arrival of buses carrying prisoners. Many waved Palestinian flags or flags of different political factions.

As the four Israelis were released, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, where they watched the drama unfold on big-screen television.

“I got goosebumps watching them,” said Aviv Bercovich, one of the spectators. “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 giving them emotional hugs.

When the helicopter arrived at the hospital in Tel Aviv, thousands of people dancing and celebrating outside looked out to see them land.

Israel insists on releasing the civilian hostages

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said Israel would not allow displaced Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which was expected to begin by Sunday, because a civilian hostage due to be released by Hamas had not been freed.

It said Israel would not allow Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which was expected to begin by Sunday, until Arbel Yehoud was freed.

A senior Hamas official said the group had informed mediators that Yehoud would be released next week.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian official involved in the talks 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 cease-fire 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 talking to 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 treaty has so far held, quieting airstrikes and missiles and allowing increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.

When the ceasefire began on Sunday, three hostages held by the militants were released in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children.

Who are the soldiers and released prisoners?

Four Israeli soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Albag, 19, were captured in Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.

In exchange, Israel agreed to release 200 prisoners, including 121 serving life sentences, according to a list released by Hamas.

The militants who have been released include Mohammad Odeh, 52, and Wael Qassim, 54, both from East Jerusalem. They are accused of carrying out a series of deadly attacks by Hamas against Israelis, including the 2002 Hebrew University cafeteria bombing in Jerusalem that killed nine people, including five American citizens.

Of the 70 deported to Egypt, some may eventually go to other countries, with Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey all expressing willingness to take them, according to Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Advocate.

Four Israeli soldiers were released from the Nahal Oz base near the Gaza border when Palestinian militants overran it, killing more than 60 soldiers there. A fifth female soldier in their unit, 20-year-old Agam Berger, was abducted with them, but was not included in the list.

“This is huge,” said Gaza City resident Radwan Abu Rawiya, one of thousands who watched the hostages tumble in Palestine Square.

“People have forgotten about war, destruction and glory,” he said.

In a televised statement, Israeli army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari criticized what he called the “cynical” public portrayal of the young women by Hamas before their release.

He also said Israel was concerned about the fate of the two youngest hostages – Kfir and Ariel Bibas – and their mother Shiri. Kfir Bibas celebrated his second birthday in captivity earlier this month.

Hagari said the military is committed to bringing all hostages home.

What’s next in the ceasefire agreement

Israel was expected to begin withdrawing from the Netzarim Corridor – the east-west road that bisects Gaza – allowing displaced Palestinians in the south to return to their former homes in the north for the first time since the war began.

But that appears to be on hold pending Yehoud’s release.

Hamas’ interior ministry said displaced Palestinians would be allowed to return to northern Gaza starting Sunday.

What happens after the initial six-week phase is uncertain, but many hope it will bring an end to a war that has leveled large swaths of Gaza, displaced the vast majority of its population and left hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation.

The conflict began with a cross-border attack led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 others hostage.

The following month, more than 100 hostages were released in a truce. But dozens remained in captivity for more than a year without contact with the outside world. Israel believes at least a third of the more than 90 prisoners still in 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 on Saturday, some worried about the fate of those still in captivity.

“It’s hard that he’s still there,” said Yoni Collins, a family friend of Berger, the fifth Army soldier taken from the Nahal Oz base.

“There were five girls, four are out, and now she’s alone,” he said. “We’re just waiting for him to come home.”

Israel’s air and ground war, one of the deadliest and most destructive in decades, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who would not say how many were militants. Women and children are said to account for more than half of the deaths.