Hamas set to release four Israeli soldier hostages in second swap

The Palestinian militant group Hamas anticipates releasing four Israeli female soldiers on Saturday in return for a set of Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire deal intended to conclude the 15-month war in Gaza. The four soldiers – Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag – were posted at an observation point near Gaza and taken by Hamas militants who invaded their base amid the assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Hamas prisoners media office announced it anticipated 200 inmates would be released on Saturday as part of the swap, comprising 120 doing life terms and 80 with other extensive sentences.

Saturday’s exchange would mark the second since the ceasefire started on Sunday and Hamas released three Israeli civilians in return for 90 Palestinian prisoners.

On Friday, Hamas recognized the four hostages who will be freed in the second exchange. However, Israel has yet to provide an official statement and may refrain from doing so until it actually obtains them. The ceasefire deal, reached after extensive negotiations facilitated by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States, has stopped the violence for the first time since a one-week truce in November 2023.

During the initial six-week segment of the agreement, Hamas has consented to free 33 hostages, comprising children, women, elderly men, and the ill and wounded, in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons, as Israeli soldiers retreat from certain areas in the Gaza Strip. In the next phase, both parties will discuss the swap of the remaining hostages, including men of military age, as well as the exit of Israeli troops from Gaza, which has been devastated after 15 months of conflict and Israeli airstrikes.

Israel started its operation in Gaza after the Hamas assault on October 7, during which militants killed 1,200 individuals and abducted over 250 hostages to Gaza, as per Israeli figures. Since that time, over 47,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in Gaza, as reported by local health authorities. Following the Sunday release of hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, along with the retrieval of the body of an Israeli soldier who had been missing for ten years, Israel reports that 94 individuals, both Israelis and foreigners, are still held in Gaza, although the number confirmed alive is uncertain.