Four female Israeli soldiers taken hostage by Hamas on 7th October 2023, were released on Saturday as part of a swap which will also see 200 Palestinian prisoners freed.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, all aged between 19 and 20, were released to the Red Cross in Gaza City during a heavily choreographed handover involving dozens of Hamas gunmen.
However, Israel accused Hamas of breaching the terms of the ceasefire because female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud was not included in Saturday’s release.
Israel said it would delay the planned return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, while Hamas insisted the hostage would be released next weekend.
Despite the dispute, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners in return for the four hostages.
Among them are 70 people who will be immediately deported to neighbouring countries via Egypt due to the seriousness of their offences.
Some prisoners will be transferred to Gaza, while others will be allowed to return to their homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The swap on Saturday was the second exchange since a ceasefire came into effect on 19 January. Three hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in the first swap.
BBC/Adebukola Aluko
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