Four Israeli hostages were released by Hamas in a carefully planned surrender

Four female Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas on 7 October 2023 were released on Saturday as part of an exchange that will see the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners.

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, all between the ages of 19 and 20, were released from the Red Cross in Gaza City during a planned handover involving dozens of Hamas gunmen.

However, Israel accused Hamas of violating the terms of the ceasefire because female prisoner Arbel Yehud was not included in Saturday’s release.

Israel has said it will delay the return of Palestinians who have fled northern Gaza, while Hamas says the hostages will be released next weekend.

Despite the controversy, Israel will go ahead with the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the return of four hostages.

Among them are 70 people who will be immediately deported to neighboring countries via Egypt because of the severity of their crimes.

Another 16 prisoners will be transferred to Gaza, while others will be allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Saturday’s exchange was the second since it went live on January 19. Three hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in the first exchange.

A carefully staged release

Saturday’s ceremony in Palestine Square, Gaza City, was very well organized by Hamas, unlike last weekend’s handover.

The four hijackers got out of the cars escorted by masked gunmen and were taken to a platform built in the square, where a Red Cross official was sitting at a desk signing papers with a Hamas fighter.

The masked hijackers and gunmen wore lanyards around their necks with ornate ID badges, each with their own brand of authorization for the event.

The stage was set up with a desk and flags, administrative signs – but on the side of the stage there was a machine gun.

The four Israeli women were seen raising their hands, smiling and holding hands as crowds of Hamas gunmen and Palestinian civilians looked on.

Hamas – which gave each hostage a bag of things to take with them back to Israel – will hope that these carefully thought-out pictures of the project’s organization and strength.

The intended recipients of the message may have been directed at both the Palestinians who hope to one day rule Gaza, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to eradicate the group after the October 7 attack.

In Israel, there was great relief that the other four hostages – who were reunited with their families shortly after their release – are safe.

Last week, many were outraged that the first three women to be freed were unjustly arrested during the handover.

Behind Saturday’s very different scenes, there may have been another kind of anger: in a public demonstration of women in their last moments before being granted freedom.

Focus on the terms of the end of the war

During Saturday’s exchange, Israel accused Hamas of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Israel had initially expected Arbel Yehud to be released as the terms of the ceasefire accord prioritized women.

However, when Hamas submitted the list of hostages it planned to release on Friday, his name was not on it.

After four hostages were safely returned to Israel on Saturday, Israel said it would respond by not allowing Palestinians who had fled to return to northern Gaza, as planned.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel was to withdraw its troops from other positions inside Gaza.

Israel said it will not allow the return of Palestinians until the situation surrounding Ms. Yehud is resolved.

Later, a Palestinian official close to Hamas and familiar with the workings of the cease-fire agreement told the BBC that “Hamas has just informed the negotiators that the Israeli hostage, Arbel Yehuda, is alive and will be released next Saturday”.

The January ceasefire agreement halted the fighting that began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were returned to Gaza as hostages.

More than 47,200 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed during the Israeli attack, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.