Hamas has released four female Israeli soldiers held in Gaza and 200 Palestinian prisoners have been released from Israeli jails as part of the ceasefire agreement that halted more than 15 months of war.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed on Saturday that it had transferred 128 Palestinian detainees to Gaza and the West Bank while local authorities handled the release and transfer of the remainder, completing the second exchange under the deal that took effect last Sunday.
Before the release of the Israeli captives in Gaza City’s Palestine Square, dozens of masked Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters gathered at the scene where a large crowd of Palestinians also congregated.
The four women – Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag – were marched onto a podium where they waved and smiled – likely under duress. They were then led into ICRC vehicles, which transported them to Israeli forces.
Representatives of the ICRC and a Hamas fighter were seen signing documents before the release.
Later on Saturday, buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners were seen departing from the Israeli Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s Prison Service said all 200 prisoners were released in line with the list published by Hamas.
The releases on either side were welcomed by cheering crowds of Palestinians in the city of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, and by Israelis in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli captives were among more than 200 soldiers and civilians seized during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
In response to the attack, Israel launched a ferocious war on Gaza which has killed at least 47,283 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and destroyed much of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.
