The four young women, who have been held hostage for over 400 days, are all military personnel who were under the age of 20 when they were taken by Hamas and taken to Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy are all 20 today, Liri Albag 19.
On site at the prisoner exchange in Gaza City were both members of Hamas’ armed forces al-Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades. Something unprecedented, according to Al Jazeera’s reporter on the ground Anas al-Sharif.
It is a signal that they are fighting close together, that they are closely coordinated and that they are taking control of the situation, he says.
At the prisoner exchange, the four hostages walked onto a stage where they smiled and waved to the crowd that had gathered. They were all dressed in uniforms and had their hair up. Then they were taken to the Red Cross vehicle, which then left the square.
Televised in Israel
The women have undergone an initial medical examination and are being taken to hospital for further examination.
When the four hostages were handed over to the Red Cross, joy erupted in a square in Tel Aviv where family and friends of the hostages had gathered.
Large screens showed the exchange in real time and people were seen crying, smiling and hugging each other as they held up placards with the names and photos of the hostages.
Israel claims Hamas is violating the Gaza ceasefire deal – which stipulates that all civilian women must be released before women in the military. Therefore, Palestinians will not be allowed to return to northern Gaza until Arbel Yehoud, one of the civilian hostages held by Hamas, is released.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says Yehoud would have been released on Saturday.
Around 250 people were taken hostage in the October attack on Israel. More than 90 of them are believed to be in Gaza, but the Israeli military estimates that a third of them are dead.
200 Palestinian prisoners
During Saturday, 200 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel were also released. About 120 of these are serving life sentences for, among other things, murder. The youngest prisoner is 15 years old, according to Al Jazeera.
Mohammed al-Tous, the Palestinian prisoner who spent the longest time in Israeli prison, is among those released. 69-year-old Tous has been imprisoned since 1985 and is a member of Fatah, the movement founded by Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat, according to the non-governmental organization Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, writes AFP.
About half of the prisoners will be allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank and close to 70 will be deported to areas outside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A smaller number of the prisoners will be sent to Gaza.