Hamas frees four Israeli hostages

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Four Israeli women hostages who were freed by Hamas militants on Saturday had crossed into Israeli territory from Gaza, the military said.

“A short while ago, accompanied by IDF (Israel Defense Force) and ISA (Israel Securities Authority) forces, the four returning hostages crossed the border into Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement.

The release was part of a truce deal in the Gaza war. The hostages are being swapped for 200 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza, Palestinian sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The prisoners include 120 who are serving life sentences, a source said on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, ahead of the swap.

Among them are Mohammed al-Tous, who was jailed for nearly four decades, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group.

Aged 69 and in prison since 1985, Tous is a member of Fatah, the movement founded by late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Tous was on the list of detainees to be released in exchange for the four released Israeli hostages, the group told AFP.

Fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad wearing green headbands and carrying assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and their groups’ banners gathered in rows in Gaza together with residents to release the hostages, AFP reported.

Israel confirmed Friday that it had received a list of names of hostages who are due to return home, though neither side has specified how many Palestinians were to be released from Israeli detention.

Palestinians displaced by the war to southern Gaza should be able to begin returning to the north following Saturday’s releases, Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau based in Qatar, told AFP on Friday.

The truce has also led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza but Israel’s United Nations ambassador on Friday confirmed that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Gaza’s main aid agency, must end all operations in Israel by Thursday.

Palestinian sources told AFP the releases could begin before noon, though neither Hamas nor Israel has announced timings.

According to the Israeli Hostage and Missing Families Forum, a campaign group, the women due for release are Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy — all aged 20 — and Liri Albag, 19.

They have been held captive for more than 15 months, since Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.