Hamas militants handed over four female hostages to Israel on Saturday in exchange of 200 Palestinians prisoners.
The four released Israeli soldiers – all aged 19, 20 - were collected from Hamas fighters in Gaza on Saturday morning, and taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv after more than 15 months of captivity.
The Israeli hostages had been in captivity since October 7, 2023 when Hamas staged large-scale incursion into Israel’s territory. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages during the Hamas attack.
Israel's prison service confirmed that 200 Palestinian prisoners were freed in exchange, with some of them subsequently deported. Crowds gathered in Gaza city where the prisoner swap took place. Hamas fighters presented the hostages to the crowds, who were waving Palestinian flags. The Saturday’s exchange is the second time hostages have been released under the terms of a cease-fire deal that has temporarily halted the 15-month-long war. Under the terms of the cease-fire deal, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and Hamas will hand over 33 hostages. Hamas is believed to hold around 100 Israelis.
The ceasefire deal was announced on 15 January following months of negotiations led by the US, Qatar and Egypt. It is based on a proposal set out by former US President Joe Biden in May 2024. Among other things, the deal stipulates the release of 33 Israeli hostages about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. Under the deal, Israeli forces will leave populated areas.
