UPD: The hostages have met with their relatives, at the moment they are in the hospital, the first photos of their meeting with relatives have been published
Today, Hamas released Israeli army soldiers, 20-year-olds Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy, and 19-year-old Liri Elbag. On October 7, 2023, they were abducted from an observation post in Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
The terrorist group turned the release into a spectacle. As Reuters writes, dozens of armed Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in masks gathered in a square where a podium was set up, and a crowd of Palestinians gathered around. A banner hanging over the stage read in Hebrew "Zionism will not prevail." Meanwhile, in the live broadcast footage, it is visible that the terrorists accompanying the four Israelis on stage were holding Israeli "Tavor" rifles.
The four hostage-soldiers were brought to the square in military uniform and handed over on stage to representatives of the Red Cross.
Israel, in turn, must release 200 Palestinian prisoners today, including 121 people serving life sentences. Among them are members of Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Among them are likely militants convicted of deadly attacks in Israel that resulted in the deaths of dozens of people, writes Reuters.
The Saturday exchange was the second since the truce began on Sunday, when Hamas handed over three Israeli civilians in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners.