The militant Palestinian Islamist group today announced the names of four Israeli female soldiers who will be released in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in the second Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Tomorrow, Saturday, the following are expected to be released:
- Karina Ariev, 20 years old
- Daniela Gilboa, 20 years old
- Naama Levi, 20 years old
- Leary Elbag, 19
The exchange, expected to begin Saturday afternoon, follows the release on the first day of the ceasefire on Sunday, January 19, of three Israeli women and 90 Palestinian prisoners, the first such exchange in more than a year.
In the first phase of a six-week ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip, Israel has agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier released, officials have said. This means that 200 Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for the four Israeli female soldiers.
After recovering the body of an Israeli soldier missing for a decade, Israel says 94 Israelis and foreigners are still being held in Gaza.
The intermittent, brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the US, ended hostilities for the first time since a ceasefire that lasted just a week in November 2023.
In the first phase, Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
In a later phase, the two sides will negotiate the exchange of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, which has been largely reduced to ruins after 15 months of war and Israeli bombardment.
Israel launched the war after Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023, when its fighters killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 others hostage and transported them to Gaza. Since then, at least 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the enclave’s health authorities.
RES/EMP
