The Palestinian movement Hamas handed over four Israeli female soldiers held as hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on Saturday, in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli military confirmed that it had received the four women in Gaza. They were released as part of the ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the 15-month war in Gaza.
The four soldiers – Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag – were stationed at an observation post on the edge of Gaza and were captured by Hamas fighters who overran their base during the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
After reuniting with their families at an Israeli military base near the Gaza border, the freed women will be taken to a hospital in central Israel, the Israeli Health Ministry announced. Hamas stated that 200 prisoners would be released on Saturday as part of the exchange. The exchange planned for Saturday will be the second since the ceasefire was established on Sunday. In the first exchange, three Israeli women were freed in return for 90 Palestinian prisoners.
The ceasefire agreement, reached after months of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt with support form the United States, has halted the fighting for the first time since the truce that lasted only a week in November 2023.
Written by D.I.
