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

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Sat Jan 25, 2025, 05:21 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: AP

Updated 5:09 AM EST, January 25, 2025


DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City on Saturday after parading them in front of a crowd. Israel was set to release 200 Palestinian prisoners or 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 hostages 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.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-01-25-2025-150674e17bd8b22f2c2c3aa4991cf061

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Article updated.

Original article/headline:

Hamas hands over 4 Israeli hostages to the Red Cross as part of ceasefire deal

Updated 4:22 AM EST, January 25, 2025


DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas militants have handed over four female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross after parading them in front of a crowd in Gaza City.

Television footage showed the handover on Saturday.

Israel is set to release 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees later in the day as part of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.

[RandySF]

1. Four?

Wow, so many!

[iemanja]

2. Some have already been released

I don’t know how many.

[Israeli]

4. Three female civilians .

Today its four female IDF conscripts.

According to the agreement It should have been civilians, ...women, children ,
sick people and men over age 55.

While we are overjoyed to see Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy home after 477 days
we are extremely worried that this is confirmation that the Bibas mother and two infants are dead .

Ref : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_the_Bibas_family

[Israeli]

3. Explained :

What We Know About the Israel-Hamas Cease-fire and Hostage Deal

The Gaza cease-fire / hostage and prisoner deal between Israel and Hamas includes three stages, made up of smaller phases, and is expected to encounter many hurdles. This is what it will look like over the next weeks - and years

At 11:15 A.M. on Sunday January 19, after a three-hour delay, a cease-fire came into effect between Israel and Hamas after 471 days of war in Gaza.

The cease-fire deal, which includes the release of the remaining nearly 100 hostages taken into Gaza by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails, is the result of an agreement hammered out in Cairo and the Qatari capital Doha, mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

The agreement is largely based on a cease-fire/hostage deal proposed by then-U.S. President Joe Biden at the end of May and endorsed by the UN Security Council. Intransigence from Hamas and Israel's government scuttled the negotiations over the following months. January's cease-fire/hostage deal was pushed over the line by what a senior White House official called a "remarkable" joint effort between envoys from the outgoing Biden administration and Trump's incoming team.

Source : Haaretz
Link : https://archive.md/ibkL2#selection-1007.0-1013.445