Hamas Frees 4 Female Israeli Soldiers in Exchange for 200 Prisoners as Part of Gaza Ceasefire – The National
Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas were safely returned to Israel on Saturday after the militants turned them over to the Red Cross in front of thousands of people in Gaza City. Instead, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The four Israelis gave the thumbs-up from a platform in Gaza City’s Palestine Square, as militants from both sides and thousands of people watched before climbing into waiting Red Cross vehicles. They said that they were not forced to move, but the previously released hostages were brutally kidnapped and forced to film propaganda videos.
Israel’s prison service says it has completed the release of 200 Palestinians. They include 121 who have been sentenced to life in prison for deadly attacks on Israelis. According to the Egyptian government’s Cairo TV, about 70 have been released to Egypt. Egypt served as a key mediator in the negotiations that led to the peace accord.
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 various political groups.
When the four Israelis were freed, hundreds of people in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square cheered as they watched the drama unfold on big-screen televisions.
One of the spectators, Aviv Berkovic, said: “I was excited to see them.” I just want the war to end.
The freed hostages were taken to an Israeli military base and reunited with their parents, who are seen in pictures hugging each other.
Arriving by helicopter at a Tel Aviv hospital, they looked up to see thousands of people landing outside, dancing and celebrating.
Israel insists on the release of a civilian hostage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late that Israel would not allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, which had been expected to begin until Sunday, without the release of civilian hostages said to be released by Hamas.
Arbel said Israel will not allow Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which is expected to begin Sunday, until Judah is liberated.
A senior Hamas official said the group had informed mediators that Yuhud would be released next week.
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Meanwhile, an Egyptian official involved in the negotiations called the issue a “small 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 ceasefire in the Gaza Strip began late last week. The joy in Israel was incredible, with live reports from television stations with smiling anchors and reporters interviewing friends and relatives of the hostages.
The purpose of the truce is to end the worst and most destructive war between Israel and the militant group. The fragile deal has so far been held by a moratorium on airstrikes and rockets and allowing more aid to flow into the tiny coastal state.
Three hostages held by the militants and 90 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children, were released when the ceasefire began on Sunday.
Who are the soldiers and prisoners being released?
The four Israeli soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20, Daniela Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Albagh, 19, were captured on October 7, 2023, in a Hamas attack that ignited the war.
In return, Israel agreed to release 200 prisoners, including 121 life sentences, according to a list released by Hamas.
Among the prominent militants who were released were 52-year-old Mohammed Odeh and 54-year-old Wael Qasim, both from East Jerusalem. In the year Hamas has been accused of carrying out a series of attacks on Israelis, including the 2002 bombing of the Hebrew University cafeteria in Jerusalem that killed nine people, including five American citizens.
Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of a Palestinian prisoner advocacy group, said some of the 70 deported to Egypt may eventually go to other countries, with Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey all willing to take them.
The four freed Israeli soldiers were taken from the Nahal Oz military base near the Gaza border when Palestinian militants stormed it, killing more than 60 soldiers. A fifth female soldier in their unit, Agham Berger, 20, was abducted with them but was not included in the list.
“This is huge,” said Gaza City resident Radwan Abu Rawiya, one of the thousands who watched the hostages being turned over in a Palestinian square.
“People are forgetting about the war, about the destruction and celebrating it,” he said.
In a televised statement, Israeli army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari criticized what he described as the “ridiculous” conduct of Hamas before the young women were released.
He also said Israel was concerned about the fate of the two younger hostages – Kfir and Ariel Bibas – and their mother Shiri. Kfir Bibas celebrated his second birthday in captivity earlier this month.
Hagari said that the defense forces are committed to return all the hostages to their homes.
What’s Next in the Ceasefire Agreement?
Israel is expected to begin pulling back from the Netzarim Corridor – the east-west road that bisects Gaza – and allow Palestinians in the south to return to their former homes in the north for the first time since the start of the war.
But that seems to be on hold pending Yuud’s release.
The Hamas-led interior ministry said earlier that displaced Palestinians would be allowed to return to northern Gaza from Sunday.
It is unclear what will happen after the six-week initial phase of the deal, but many hope it will end the war that has claimed vast swaths of Gaza, displaced much of its population and left hundreds of thousands of people in crisis. Hunger.
The conflict started in October 7, 2023 Palestinian militants kill 1,200 people and kill nearly 250 others in cross-border attacks led by Hamas.
The following month, more than 100 hostages were released in a week-long truce. But dozens of people have been in captivity for more than a year without any contact with the outside world. Israel believes at least a third of the more than 90 captives still in Gaza were killed in the initial attack or died in captivity.
While many cheered in Tel Aviv’s hostage square after the four soldiers were freed on Saturday, some were concerned about the fate of those still in custody.
“It’s hard that she’s still alive,” said Yoni Collins, a friend of the Berger family, the fifth female soldier to be taken from the Nahal Oz base.
“There were five girls, all four have left and now she is alone,” he said. “We are waiting for her to come home.”
Israel’s air and ground war, the deadliest and most destructive in decades, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, local health officials said, but would not say how many were militants. They say more than half of the dead are women and children.