Hamas has announced the names of four Israeli women being held captive in Gaza, who it plans to release this weekend as part of the ongoing ceasefire agreement with Israel. This development comes amid a fragile truce and ongoing negotiations between the two sides.
The announcement was made by Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, on Telegram. The four women, who have been held by Hamas in Gaza for 15 months, were named as Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag. These women are Israel Defense Forces (IDF) observation troops who were abducted by Hamas in Nahal Oz during the group’s surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Following the release of the names, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that it believed Hamas was in breach of the ceasefire deal. The agreement requires Hamas to release all female civilian hostages before moving on to female soldiers, older hostages, and those who are seriously ill. The list provided by Hamas did not include Arbel Yehoud, the last female civilian hostage in Gaza, which Israeli officials expected to be released this weekend.
The ceasefire agreement, now in its sixth day, includes the gradual release of 33 Israeli hostages, primarily women, children, and older civilians, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The first exchange took place on Sunday with the release of three Israeli civilian hostages and 90 Palestinians.
Under the first phase of the deal, female civilians are supposed to be released first, followed by women soldiers, then older and sick people. However, there has been speculation that Yehoud, who holds joint German and Israeli citizenship, is not being held by Hamas but by another militant faction, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The ceasefire has brought limited respite to civilians in Gaza, with movement between northern and southern Gaza set to resume. However, many displaced families face uncertainty about the state of their homes in the war-torn region.
Israel believes that about a third, or possibly as many as half, of the more than 90 hostages still in Gaza have died. Hamas has not released definitive information on how many captives are still alive or the names of those who have died.
In the first phase of the ceasefire deal, 33 hostages are expected to be released gradually in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The 33 to be released in the first phase will include women, children, sick people, and those over 50 – almost all civilians, though the deal also commits Hamas to freeing all living female soldiers in phase one
The four female soldiers worked in an IDF surveillance unit near Nahal Oz on the border with Gaza, where the all-female “spotters” unit was tasked with watching activity in the strip. Family members of other spotters taken hostage by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack said the female soldiers had reported seeing suspicious activity in Gaza before the attack, including militants practicing using parachutes, but their concerns were repeatedly overruled.
Footage later circulated of the moment Palestinian militants took six female spotters captive at the Nahal Oz base, stirring outrage in Israel. It showed a woman, who appeared to be Naama Levy, facing a wall as a fighter bent down to tie her hands and ankles, her face bloodied.
Hamas released a video of 19-year-old Liri Albag three weeks ago, stills of which indicated that she was pale and appeared exhausted, as she called on the Israeli government to reach a ceasefire deal. Albag’s parents appealed to Netanyahu in response, telling him to “make decisions as if your own children were there”.
As the ceasefire agreement progresses, the release of hostages and the exchange of prisoners will continue to be a critical and sensitive issue for both sides. The international community watches closely as these developments unfold, hoping for a peaceful resolution and the safe return of all captives.
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