Hamas frees 4 female Israeli soldiers as part of the Gaza ceasefire

Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City on Saturday. Israel was set to release 200 Palestinian detainees later in the day as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

As the four 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."

Israel confirmed that the captives were with its forces not long after they were driven away from the handover in Gaza City by the Red Cross.

The crowds in Tel Aviv and also in Gaza City had begun gathering earlier in the day in anticipation of the swap between Israel and Hamas, the second such exchange since a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip last weekend and another test for the deal.

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 airstrikes and rockets and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.

When the ceasefire started Sunday, three captives held by the militants were released in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children.

Who are the soldiers and prisoners being released?

The four Israeli soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19, were captured in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.

In exchange, Israel was to release 200 prisoners, including 121 who were serving life sentences, according to a list released by Hamas. Of those, the list indicated that 70 would be expelled from Gaza and the West bank but did not say where.

The more known militants being released include Mohammad Odeh, 52, and Wael Qassim, 54, both from east Jerusalem. They were accused of carrying out a series of deadly Hamas attacks against Israelis, including a bombing at a cafeteria at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2002 that killed nine people, including five U.S. citizens.

The four soldiers released were taken from Nahal Oz base near the border with Gaza when Palestinian militants overran it, killing more than 60 soldiers there. The female abductees had all served in a unit of lookouts charged with monitoring threats along the border. A fifth female soldier in their unit, Agam Berger, 20, was abducted with them but not included in the list.

Israel's military issued a statement Saturday morning saying that preparations had been completed to receive the captives and provide them medical care and personal support at the initial reception points, then transfer them to hospitals and reunite them with their families.

"This is huge," said Gaza City resident Radwan Abu Rawiya, one of thousands who watched the captives turned over in Palestine Square.

"People forgot about the war, destruction and are celebrating," he said.

What's next in the ceasefire deal

After the swap, Israel is expected to begin pulling back from the Netzarim corridor — an east-west road dividing Gaza in two — and allowing displaced Palestinians in the south to return to their former homes in the north for the first time since the beginning of the war.

Palestinians will only be allowed to move north on foot, with vehicular traffic restricted until later in the ceasefire.

The Hamas-run interior ministry said displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to northern Gaza starting Sunday.

In a statement Saturday, the ministry, which oversees police forces, said Palestinians will be able to move between southern and northern Gaza on foot through the coastal Rashid road.

What happens after the deal's initial six-week phase is uncertain, but many hope it will lead to the end of a war that has leveled wide swaths of Gaza, displaced the vast majority of its population and left hundreds of thousands of people at risk of famine.

The conflict began with a cross-border attack led by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants allegedly killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 others captive.

More than 100 captives were freed in a weeklong truce the following month. But dozens have remained in captivity for over a year with no contact with the outside world. Israel believes at least a third of the more than 90 captives still inside Gaza were killed in the initial attack or died in captivity.

While many rejoiced in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square after the four soldiers were released Saturday, some worried about the fate of those still in captivity.

"It's hard that she's still there," said Yoni Collins, a family friend of Agam Berger, the fifth female soldier taken from Nahal Oz base who's still being held in Gaza.

"There were five girls, four are out and now she's there alone," he said. "We're just waiting for her to come home."

Israel's air and ground war, one of the deadliest and most destructive in decades, has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were militants. They say women and children make up more than half the fatalities.