Four female hostages freed from Gaza in second round of releases
Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy were taken hostage from the Nahal Oz base on Oct. 7
Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images
Israelis react emotionally as they watch live on screen the return of Israeli hostages released by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners on January 25, 2025, as part of the cease-fire agreement.
Hamas released four Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of the implementation of the first phase of the cease-fire agreement reached between the terror group and Israel earlier this month.
Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy — who were among the seven female soldiers taken from the Nahal Oz military base on Oct. 7 — were released to Red Cross custody on Saturday morning before being transferred to the IDF and returned to Israel.
Before the women were transferred to the Red Cross, they appeared at a public ceremony wearing IDF uniforms and surrounded by masked, armed men in Hamas uniforms. All four women appeared to be in good health.
The women will be treated at the Bellinson hospital at the Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikva, where they will be reunited with their families.
According to the terms of the agreement, Hamas will provide Israel with a list of who among the remaining 26 hostages are alive. An official familiar with the matter told Jewish Insider that the full list, with the statuses of the remaining hostages, was expected to be released sometime Saturday.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement following the release of the four soldiers that Hamas had “failed to meet its obligations to first release Israeli female civilian hostages as part of the agreement.”
“We are determined to return Arbel Yehoud, an Israeli citizen kidnapped from Nir Oz, and also Shiri Bibas and her two children, Kfir and Ariel, whose welfare we are extremely concerned about,” Hagari added. “We appreciate and thank the efforts of all the international mediators, the United States, Qatar and Egypt. And we expect them to make sure Hamas stands in accordance with the agreement.”
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement, “Israel today received four kidnapped female soldiers from the Hamas terrorist organization and in exchange will release security prisoners,” in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
“According to the agreement, Israel will not allow Gazans to cross into the northern Gaza Strip – until the release of the civilian, Arbel Yehoud, who was supposed to be released today, is arranged.”