Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas returned safely to Israel on Saturday after militants presented 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 the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The four Israelis smiled broadly as they waved and gave thumbs up from a stage in Gaza’s Palestine Square, surrounded by activists on either side and a crowd of thousands watching before being led away towards the Red Cross vehicles which were waiting for them. They were likely acting under duress, with previously released hostages saying they were held in brutal conditions and forced to record propaganda videos.
The Israeli Prison Service later said it had finalized the release of 200 Palestinians. Of those, 121 were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. About 70 of them were released in Egypt, according to Egyptian state broadcaster Qahera. Egypt played a key mediating role in the talks that led to the truce.
Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, to celebrate the arrival of the buses carrying the prisoners. Many waved Palestinian flags or flags of different political factions.
As the four Israelis were freed, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, where they watched the drama unfold on a large television screen.
“I had 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 can be seen in photos hugging them emotionally.
As they arrived by helicopter at a Tel Aviv hospital, thousands of people dancing and partying outside looked up to see them land.
Israel insists on release of civilian hostage
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said Israel would not allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, which had been planned for Sunday, because a civilian hostage who was supposed to be freed by Hamas would not had not been released.
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He said Israel would not allow Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which had been planned for Sunday, until Arbel Yehud was released.
A senior Hamas official said the group had informed mediators that Yehud would be released next week.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian official involved in the negotiations called the issue a “minor issue” that mediators are working to resolve. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
This is the second such exchange between Israel and Hamas since the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip began last weekend. The enthusiasm in Israel was palpable, with television channels filled with live reports of smiling news anchors and journalists interviewing delighted friends and relatives of the hostages.
The truce aims to end the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the militant group. The fragile deal has so far held, easing airstrikes and rocket fire and allowing more aid to the small 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 released soldiers and prisoners?
The four Israeli soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Albag, 19, were captured during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that started the war.
In exchange, Israel agreed to release 200 prisoners, 121 of whom were serving life sentences, according to a list published by Hamas.
Among the most notorious activists released were 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 of a cafeteria at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2002 that killed nine people, including five American citizens.
Of the 70 people deported to Egypt, some could eventually go to other countries, with Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey all expressing willingness to welcome them, according to Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of a group of defense of Palestinian prisoners.
The four freed Israeli soldiers were taken from the Nahal Oz base near the Gaza border when Palestinian militants overran it, killing more than 60 soldiers. A fifth female soldier in their unit, Agam Berger, 20, was kidnapped with them but is not on the list.
“It’s huge,” said Gaza City resident Radwan Abu Rawiya, one of thousands who witnessed the handover of the hostages in Palestine Square.
“People have forgotten the war, the destruction and are celebrating,” he said.
In a televised statement, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari criticized what he called Hamas’s “cynical” public presentation of the young women 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 was committed to returning all hostages home.
What’s next for the ceasefire agreement
Israel was expected to begin withdrawing from the Netzarim Corridor – an east-west route dividing Gaza in two – and allow displaced Palestinians from the south to return to their former homes in the north for the first time since the start of the war.
But this appears to be on hold pending Yehud’s release.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said earlier that displaced Palestinians would be allowed to return to northern Gaza from Sunday.
What will happen after the initial six-week phase of the deal is uncertain, but many hope it will lead to an end to a war that has ravaged large swaths of Gaza, displaced the vast majority of its population and left hundreds of thousands of people in danger. famine.
The conflict began with a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 others hostage.
More than 100 hostages were freed during a week-long truce the following month. But dozens of them have remained in captivity for more than a year, without contact with the outside world. Israel estimates that at least a third of the 90 captives still in Gaza were killed in the initial attack or died in captivity.
While many rejoiced in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square following the release of the four soldiers on Saturday, some worried about the fate of those still in captivity.
“It’s hard that she’s still here,” said Yoni Collins, a family friend of Berger, the fifth female soldier kidnapped at the Nahal Oz base.
“There were five girls, four came out and now she’s alone there,” 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 more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were militants. They say women and children account for more than half of the deaths.