4 Israeli Hostages and 200 Palestinian Prisoners Exchanged in Second Swap

Additional Release After 477 Days Since the Outbreak of the Conflict

Four Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian armed group Hamas were additionally released on the 25th (local time), 477 days after the outbreak of the war. Israel also decided to release 200 Palestinian prisoners on the same day. The photo shows local Palestinian residents inspecting the damage caused by Israeli airstrikes in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, in October last year. Photo by Yonhap News.

Four Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian armed group Hamas were additionally released on the 25th (local time), marking 477 days since the outbreak of the conflict. Israel also agreed to release 200 Palestinian prisoners on the same day.

On the morning of the 25th, Hamas handed over four hostages?Liri Albagh (19), Karina Ariev (20), Daniela Gilboa (20), and Nama Levi (20)?to the Israeli military through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at a square in Gaza City, the central city of the Gaza Strip.

After the hostages got out of the vehicle, they went up on a stage prepared by Hamas and waved their hands in front of thousands of onlookers. The Israeli military transported the hostages by helicopter to a hospital for health examinations.

All four released hostages are female Israeli soldiers who were kidnapped while on guard duty at the Nahal Oz outpost, located a few hundred meters from the border, during Hamas’s raid on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Israel agreed to release 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages. The release list included Mohammad Odeh (52) and Wael Qasim (54), perpetrators of the 2002 Jerusalem Hebrew University bombing that killed nine people, including five Americans. According to the Associated Press, 120 of the 200 prisoners are serving life sentences.

The hostage and prisoner releases between Israel and Hamas mark the second exchange since the ceasefire took effect on the 19th. On the day the ceasefire began, the two sides exchanged three Israeli hostages and 90 prisoners.

During the first phase of the six-week ceasefire, both sides agreed to exchange hostages and prisoners every Saturday. According to the plan, 33 Israeli hostages and about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners will be released during this period. The Israeli military has identified that 94 hostages remain in Gaza Strip just before the ceasefire, of whom 34 are confirmed dead.