Hamas has released the names of four female soldiers expected to be freed on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel.
Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and 19-year-old Liri Albag, who were all serving with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), are set to return from the war-ravaged coastal territory to Israel in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The four Israeli troops were taken captive from the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 when Hamas carried out its cross-border attack.
The hostages are expected to be freed as part of an exchange that will see 200 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails – 50 for each IDF soldier released by Hamas as per the ceasefire agreement.
It is understood that 120 of the Palestinian prisoners are serving life sentences.
All four Israeli captives are alive, Sky’s US partner network NBC News reported, citing a senior Hamas official.
The latest developments follow the release of three Israeli hostages, including dual British citizen Emily Damari, last Sunday and comes as the ceasefire approaches its second week.
Israel has yet to confirm the latest names. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “A list of kidnapped women has been received by the mediators. Israel’s response will be provided later.”
Israel had reportedly demanded that Arbel Yehoud, an Israeli civilian, be on the list of four to be released on Saturday. However, she has not been named by Hamas.
It is thought she might be held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group in the Gaza Strip.
Under the terms of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hames, 33 hostages are to be freed over the course of six weeks in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
The Gaza-based Prisoners’ Media Office said in a statement: “After the Palestinian resistance factions announced the names of the occupation prisoners who are to be released tomorrow, which included the names of four female soldiers; we are waiting for the list of Palestinian prisoners who are to be released tomorrow, which will include 120 prisoners with life sentences, and 80 prisoners with high sentences, according to what was stipulated in the ceasefire agreement in the deal.”
If the process runs smoothly, the four Israeli hostages should be released late on Saturday afternoon. They will first be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross and then driven to one of three border crossings to be transferred to the IDF.
From there, and after initial medical checks, they will be flown to hospital.
The Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released from Ofer Prison in the West Bank late on Saturday or in the early hours of Sunday morning.
