Hamas frees 4 female Israeli soldiers in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners

Four female Israeli soldiers who had been held hostage by Hamas returned safely to Israel on Saturday after the Hamas paraded them in front of 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 the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The four Israelis smiled broadly as they waved and gave the thumbs-up from a stage in Gaza City's Palestine Square, Hamas members on either side of them and a crowd of thousands watching before they were led off to waiting Red Cross vehicles.

Israel's Prison Service later said it had completed the release of 200 Palestinians. They included 121 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.

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.

As the four Israelis were released, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square where they were watching the drama unfold on a big screen television.

The freed hostages were taken to an Israeli army base, where they were reunited with their parents, and could be seen in pictures hugging them emotionally.

The parents of Karina Ariev, and the mothers of Naama Levy and Liri Albag react in this still image obtained from a video. Reuters

As they arrived by helicopter to a Tel Aviv hospital, thousands of people dancing and celebrating outside outside looked up to see them land.

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

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

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

Meantime, an Egyptian official involved in the negotiations called the matter a "minor issue" that mediators are working to resolve. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

It was the second such exchange between Israel and Hamas since a ceasefire 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 interviewing 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 Hamas group. The fragile deal has so far held, quieting airstrikes and rockets and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.

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

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.

A member of the ICRC signs a document as Hamas prepare to hand over four female Israeli soldiers in Gaza City. Reuters

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

The more notorious prisoner 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 US citizens.

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.

The four Israeli soldiers released were taken from Nahal Oz base near the border with Gaza when Hamas overran it. A fifth female soldier in their unit, Agam Berger, 20, was abducted with them but not included in the list.

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.

Hamas fighters escort four Israeli hostages, (center: L-R) Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, to hand them over to a Red Cross team in Gaza City. AFP

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 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.

Associated Press