Hamas frees four Israeli soldiers in swap for 200 Palestinian prisoners

The Palestinian militant movement Hamas released four female Israeli soldier hostages on Saturday in return for 200 Palestinian prisoners, in keeping with the ceasefire agreement in the 15-month-old war in Gaza.

The four Israelis were led onto a podium in Gaza City amid a large crowd of Palestinians and surrounded by dozens of armed Hamas men. They waved and smiled before being led off, entering Red Cross vehicles to be transported to Israeli forces.

Soon after, 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 had been released.

The releases on either side were greeted by cheering crowds, including Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv and Palestinians assembled in Ramallah. The swap was the second to take place under the truce, following an initial release on the ceasefire's first day, Jan. 19.

The truce calls for Hamas to release 33 women, children, elderly, sick and wounded hostages over a six-week first phase, with Israel freeing 30 prisoners for each civilian and 50 for each soldier.

The four Israeli soldiers freed on Saturday - Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag - had all been stationed at an observation post on the edge of Gaza when Hamas fighters overran their base and abducted them during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that precipitated the war.

Their parents clapped and cried out in joy when they saw them on screen, watching the handover live from a nearby military base across the border. In Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israelis gathered at a rallying point now widely referred to as Hostages Square, crying, embracing and cheering as the release was aired on a giant screen.

The women were reunited with their families soon after and then flown aboard helicopters to a hospital in central Israel. Photos published by the Israeli military showed them embracing tightly with their parents, in smiles and tears.

The 200 Palestinians freed on Saturday include militants, some serving life sentences for involvement in attacks that killed dozens of people, according to a list published by Hamas.

Israel says those convicted of killing Israelis will not be permitted to return home. Around 70 will be deported to Egypt, Palestinian officials said, and from there to another country, possibly Turkey, Qatar or Algiers.

Another 16 were sent to Gaza and the rest were released to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where cheering crowds waving Palestinian flags gathered in Ramallah to greet them.

Joy in Israel over Saturday's release was clouded by disappointment over a female civilian hostage who was expected to be freed but was not included. Arbel Yehud, 29, had been abducted with her boyfriend from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

An Israeli military spokesman said the failure to release her was a breach of the truce, while Hamas said it was a technical issue. A Hamas official said the group had informed mediators that she was alive and would be freed next Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Palestinians in Gaza would not be allowed to cross back to the northern part of the territory until the issue is resolved.

In Gaza, which lies largely in ruins after 15 months of fighting and bombardment, hundreds of thousands of people displaced from northern areas have been hoping to return home from Sunday. A Palestinian official told Reuters that mediators were working on resolving the matter.

The ceasefire agreement, worked out after months of on-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States, has halted the fighting for the first time in more than a year. The only previous truce lasted just a week in Nov. 2023, during which around half of the hostages were freed.

After the current ceasefire's first phase, the sides are expected to negotiate the exchange of the remaining hostages, including men of military age, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. But that deal is far from assured.

Following Saturday's release, 90 hostages remain in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities, who have declared around a third of them dead in absentia. Twenty-six are still slated for release in the first phase.

Families of hostages due to be released in later phases are worried that the ceasefire could break down before their fate is resolved.

Some Israeli officials critical of the truce say Israel must resume fighting to prevent Hamas from returning to power in Gaza. Hamas says it will not free all hostages until the war ends for good.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, when militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's campaign has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities there. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have also died Gaza combat.

Hamas has not revealed how many fighters it has lost. Israel estimates that more than a third of Gaza's death toll is militants. But the group has returned to the streets openly during the ceasefire, a challenge to Israeli authorities who say they will not end the war until Hamas is eradicated.