Hamas militants on Saturday, January 25, handed over to the Red Cross four Israeli women hostages under a truce deal in the Gaza war that is also expected to see a second group of Palestinian prisoners freed. The Israeli military then confirmed the hostages were in its custody.
The four were presented on a stage at a main square in Gaza City, where dozens of masked, armed militants had gathered earlier. Four Red Cross vehicles had arrived ahead of the handover. The fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, carrying assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, gathered in rows, many carrying their groups' banners and wearing green headbands, as crowds of Gaza residents gathered to watch.
Israel confirmed Friday that it had received a list of the hostages' names. The women released are Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy – all aged 20 – and Liri Albag, 19. They had been held captive for more than 15 months, since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
On Saturday, Israel is to free Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages. According to Israel's prison service, some of the Palestinians released will go to Gaza, with the rest returning to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The truce has also led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza but Israel's UN ambassador on Friday confirmed that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Gaza's main aid agency, must end all operations in Israel by Thursday.
The hostage-prisoner exchange is part of a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect last Sunday, and which is intended to pave the way to a permanent end to the war. Mediators Qatar and the United States announced the agreement days ahead of US President Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump has since claimed credit for securing the deal after months of fruitless negotiations.
The ceasefire agreement should be implemented in three phases, but the last two stages have not yet been finalized. During the first, 42-day phase that began Sunday, 33 hostages Israel believes are still alive should be freed in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Three hostages – Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher – returned home on the first day of the truce. Ninety Palestinians, mostly women and minors, were released in exchange.
The deal's second phase is to see negotiations for a more permanent end to the war, but analysts have warned it risks collapsing because of the deal's multi-phase nature and deep distrust between Israel and Hamas.
During their October 7, 2023 attack, Hamas militants took 251 hostages, 91 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel's retaliatory response has killed at least 47,283 people in Gaza, a majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, figures which the UN considers reliable.