Hamas said on Friday that he will release four women soldiers held hostage for over a year in Gaza, as part of an exchange of hostages with prisoners who will take place on Saturday, while Israelis and Palestinians look forward to the next steps towards the cessation of employment. Agreement on the fire.
In a statement, Hamas identified the four women like Karina Ariev, 20 years old; Daniella Gilboa, 20 years old; Naama Levy, 20 years old; And Liri Albag, 19 years old. All four were kidnapped by the military base near Gaza where they served during the attack led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which started the war.
Israel said that the mediators between the two sides transmitted a list of hostage names scheduled for release on Saturday, without confirming their identity. It was not clear if the four appointed by Hamas would finally be released.
The mediators hope that the six -week truce between Israel and Hamas, which began on Sunday, may lay the foundations for the permanent end of the war in Gaza. But next weekend could prove to be a crucial test for the agreement.
According to the terms of the agreement, Saturday Israel should release about 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the four hostages, including some sentenced to life imprisonment for involvement in attacks against Israelis.
The truce also provided that the Israeli forces would have partially withdrawn from a large area in the center of Gaza to allow hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced to start returning to their homes in the devastated North.
And Hamas also committed himself to providing Israel on Saturday information on the conditions of the other hostages that will be released during the six -week truce, said two Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss delicate diplomacy.
Israel for some time asks what hostages were still alive after more than 15 months of captivity in Gaza. Hamas refused to provide information, and some officials said they couldn’t even confirm their status before a truce allowed his fighters to move and communicate freely.
The cessation agreement of the fire of 42 days entered into force on Sunday, pauseing the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas agreed to release 33 of the remaining hostages in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and a partial Israeli retreat. During the break, both sides agreed to discuss the terms for a ceased fire.
Many on both sides have seen the agreement as a sweet and sour moment. The inhabitants of Gaza were grateful for the truce after 15 months of war who killed tens of thousands of people, even if they feared for their future in the enclave, most of which was reduced to rubble.
The Israelis lived a moment of collective euphoria for the release of three women hostage: Romi Gonen, 24 years old; Emily Damari, 28 years old; And Doron Steinbricher, 31 years old. But their joy was mitigated by the scenes of Hamas fighters who paraded on the streets of Gaza in a demonstration of strength, despite the promises of the Israeli leaders to destroy the group. As part of this exchange, Israel has released 90 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The war began after the attack led by Hamas in the south of Israel who, according to the Israeli authorities, killed about 1,200 people and saw the hostage of 250 people. The subsequent military campaign of Israel against Hamas in Gaza killed at least 45,000 people, according to local health officials, whose statistics do not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
About 94 hostages remain in Gaza, dozens of which are presumed to have died, according to the Israeli authorities. They include Israeli soldiers, male civilians, women and Thai migrant workers.