1 week Ago
HAMAS IS SET to release four Israeli women soldiers held hostage since its 7 October, 2023 attack, under a truce deal in the Gaza war that is also expected to see a second group of Palestinian prisoners freed. Israel confirmed that it had received a list of names of hostages who are due to return home, though neither side has specified how many Palestinians will be released from Israeli detention if everything goes to plan. According to the Israeli Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the women due for release are Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag.
Albag turned 19 while in captivity, while the others are all now 20 years old. The exchange is part of a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect last Sunday, and which is intended to pave the way to a permanent end to the conflict. Mediators Qatar and the United States announced the agreement days ahead of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, and he has since claimed credit for securing it after months of fruitless negotiations.
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said on sociak networking platform Telegram yesterday that “as part of the prisoners’ exchange deal, the Qassam brigades decided to release tomorrow four women soldiers”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed it had received the names through mediators. Palestinian sources told AFP the releases could begin before noon (10am GMT), though neither Hamas nor Israel has issued a statement on expected timings.
According to Israel’s prison service, some of the Palestinians released will go to Gaza, with the rest to return to the occupied West Bank. The ceasefire agreement should be implemented in three phases. During the first, 42-day phase that began last Sunday, 33 hostages Israel believed were still alive should be returned in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Three hostages – Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher – have already returned home. Ninety Palestinians, mostly women and minors, were released in exchange. The next phase should see negotiations for a more permanent end to the war, while the last phase should see the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of the bodies of dead hostages.
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