Resistance Movement Hamas has released four Zionist female soldiers, handing them over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at Gaza City’s Palestine Square. This transfer marks the second stage of prisoner-captive exchange under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, with preparations underway for the release of 200 Palestinian detainees.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, delivered the soldiers, dressed in military uniforms, to Red Cross representatives.
The female soldiers were seen standing alongside Resistance fighters on a platform, where an official handover agreement was signed between a representative from al-Qassam and one from the Red Cross.
A display of the power of victory
The handover was preceded by the deployment of numerous fighters from both the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades in central Gaza City. The area was prepared for the arrival of the four Israeli soldiers.
Red Cross vehicles arrived shortly thereafter to receive the released Zionist soldiers.
The names of the captives, identified as Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Danielle Gilboa, and Naama Levy, were revealed by Abu Obeida. Their release is part of the al-Aqsa Flood deal under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which has been in effect since January 19, 2025.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed receipt of the list of captives from mediators. The statement indicated that “Israel’s response to the list will be provided later.”
Under the ceasefire agreement, the first day of the truce saw the release of three Zionist female captives by the Palestinian Resistance in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released today, Saturday, in the second phase of the prisoner exchange deal, the Israeli Prison Service announced.
According to the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the second batch comprised 200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees with life sentences and long prison terms.
Three buses carrying the Palestinian prisoners and detainees liberated by the Resistance arrived in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, where a huge public reception was held for them.
Among the freed prisoners was Mohammad al-Arida, one of the heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel, as well as Iyad Jaradat who took part in the operation.
The longest-serving among the Jenin prisoners, Raed al-Saadi, who spent 36 years in the occupation prisons as part of his term of two life sentences and 20 years, and Thabet al-Mardawi, who was accused of digging a tunnel in the Shatta prison and attempting to break out, were also released.
Today’s exchange also saw the release of prisoner Houssam Abed, who was serving three life sentences and 55 and a half years.
Meanwhile, crowds in Ramallah carried the freed prisoners on their shoulders and waved the victory sign, while the prisoners and detainees thanked the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza, which was the reason behind their release.
The Hamas movement “is emerging from this war with the upper hand, having secured a ceasefire while maintaining its authority in the Gaza Strip,” the former head of the Operations Division in the Israeli occupation military, Israel Ziv, pointed out during an interview for the regime’s Channel 12.
In the same context, former Shin Bet official Adi Carmi considered that the occiupation is now paying the price for failure, catastrophe, and arrogance on October 7, 2023.”
Speaking to Channel 13, Carmi noted that everything Hamas is doing is “organized, with documentation and names,” presenting itself as “dominant, strong, and operating as an organized army.”
On Saturday, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, released four Zionist female soldiers as part of the second round of the first phase of the prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
The al-Qassam Brigades handed over the four captives, who were dressed in military uniforms, to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Palestine Square in Gaza City.
The captives appeared alongside members of the al-Qassam Brigades on a platform set up in the square, where a handover agreement was signed between a representative of the Palestinian Resistance group and another from the ICRC.