Four female Israeli soldiers, who had been held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, are released by Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, January 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Hamas militants handed over four Israeli women hostages to the Red Cross in a Saturday (January 25, 2025) swap after parading them on a stage at a square in Gaza, an AFP journalist reported.
The four, all Israeli soldiers dressed in military fatigues, had been held captive in the Palestinian territory since Hamas seized them during their attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday (January 24, 2025) announced the names of four Israeli women soldiers to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the second swap under the ceasefire deal. Hamas has said to release Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag
The exchange follows the release on the ceasefire’s first day last Sunday of three Israeli women and 90 Palestinian prisoners, the first such exchange for more than a year.
In the six-week first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier released, officials have said. That suggests that 200 Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for the four.
Phased ceasefire
The ceasefire agreement, worked out after months of on-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States, halted the fighting for the first time since a truce that lasted just a week in Nov. 2023.
In the first phase, Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In a subsequent phase, the two sides would negotiate the exchange of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which lies largely in ruins after 15 months of fighting and Israeli bombardment.
Published – January 25, 2025 03:10 pm IST
