Israeli authorities say they have released 200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, hours after Hamas freed four young female Israeli soldiers from captivity in Gaza.
The four Israeli soldiers smiled broadly as they waved and gave the thumbs-up from a stage in Gaza City’s Palestine Square, militants on either side of them and a crowd of thousands watching before they were led off to waiting Red Cross vehicles.
They were likely acting under duress, with previously released hostages saying they were held in brutal conditions and forced to record propaganda videos.
Israel then released 70 Palestinian prisoners who will not be allowed to return to the Gaza Strip or West Bank, according to Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV, which said they had arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza.
Egypt served as a key mediator in more than a year of talks that led to the truce agreement.
Later, buses carrying the remainder of the 200 Palestinian prisoners being released made their way from Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank toward Jerusalem and the city of Ramallah, where crowds of relatives and supporters awaited.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later released a video showing the freed hostages being welcomed at an Israeli army base.
One of them, Liri Albag, smiled, gave two thumbs up and made a heart shape with her hand before getting into a van.
As the four Israeli soldiers were released, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square where they were watching the drama unfold on a big screen television.
“I’m speechless,” said Aviv Bercovich, one of the onlookers.
“I had goosebumps watching them. I just want the war to end.”
Netanyahu’s office later said that Arbel Yehoud, a civilian hostage held by Hamas, was supposed to have been released Saturday.
It said Israel would not allow Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which had been expected to begin by Sunday, until she is freed.
A senior Hamas official said the group has informed mediators that Yehoud will be released next week.
Meantime, an Egyptian official involved in the negotiations called the matter a “minor issue” that mediators are working to resolve.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized ts discuss the matter publicly.
The crowds in Tel Aviv and also in Gaza City began gathering early in the day in anticipation of the second such exchange between Israel and Hamas since a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip last weekend.
The excitement in Israel was palpable, with TV stations filled with live reports from smiling news anchors and reporters interviewing ecstatic friends and relatives of the hostages.
The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the militant group.
The fragile deal has so far held, quieting air strikes and rockets and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.
When the ceasefire started Sunday, three hostages held by the militants were released in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children.
The four Israeli soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Albag, 19, were captured in Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.
The female abductees had all served in a unit of lookouts charged with monitoring threats along the border.
“This is huge,” said Gaza City resident Radwan Abu Rawiya, one of thousands who watched the hostages turned over in Palestine Square.
“People forgot about the war, destruction and are celebrating,” he said.
In a televised statement, Israel’s army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed the released hostages were in Israeli hands and on their way home, while criticising what he called the “cynical” public display of the young women by Hamas before their release.
He also said that Israel is concerned about the fate of the two youngest hostages — Kfir and Ariel Bibas — and their mother Shiri. Kfir Bibas marked his second birthday in captivity earlier this month.
Hagari said the army is committed to bringing all hostages home.
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