Hamas releases four Israeli soldiers in exchange for Palestinian prisoners: live updates

The release of the hostages is part of that a 42-day ceasefire That came into effect on Sunday and stopped fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas agreed to gradually release 33 of the nearly 100 remaining hostages in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel and a partial Israeli withdrawal.

The hostages were recent recruits and worked as “spotters” for the Israeli army, reporting on suspicious activity across the border. During the Hamas-led attack, militants stormed Israel’s Nahal Oz military base, killing more than 50 soldiers and kidnapping the women, who were teenagers at the time, and three other female soldiers.

In May, the Israeli army three-minute edited collection of videosverified by The New York Times, shows Palestinian fighters, some wearing Hamas headbands, tying the hands of five women, including the four released on Saturday. According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of many of the detainees, the footage was recorded by body cameras worn by the Hamas militants who abducted them.

Here’s what else we know about the four freed hostages.

Liri Alba

Ms. Albag, who dreamed of becoming an architect and interior designer, joined the Israeli army shortly after graduating from high school, according to a statement from the Hostage Families Forum.

Her family expressed relief and joy at seeing her released. “Far from what I expected, she looks lively,” Ruhama Albag, her aunt, said on live television. “She is cheerful, waving her hand and her spirit is unbroken.”

In January, the military wing of Hamas released an edited video from Ms Albag, now 19, who spoke for three and a half minutes, saying she had been held for more than 450 days.

In a statement at the time, Ms. Albag’s family said “her severe psychological distress” was evident in the video and asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders to “make decisions as if your own children were there.”

“She is only tens of kilometers away from us, yet we have not been able to bring her home for 456 days,” the family said.

Karina Ariev

Ms Ariev, 20, is the daughter of immigrants from Ukraine, and her family described her as “the unifying force” among friends and family, the families forum said.

She called her parents during the attack, described the militants firing guns and rockets and told them she loved them, police said. Israeli news media. Her family found a Hamas video on social media later that day showing Ms. Ariev and two other women in a Jeep, their faces bleeding, they said.

In August, Ms. Ariev’s older sister, Sasha Ariev, said at an event in Jerusalem spoke of moving after the Oct. 7 attack to help her struggling parents, who felt increasingly helpless.

Ms. Ariev’s sister said the hostage crisis consumed her. “How can I sleep when we haven’t managed to bring Karina and all the other hostages home?” she said. “How can I sleep when I’m in my bed and she’s a hostage?”

Daniella Gilboa

Daniella Gilboa, 20, is from Petah Tikva, in central Israel. At the time of her abduction, Ms. Gilboa had been studying piano and hoped to one day perform professionally, the forum said.

In July, Ms. Gilboa’s family released a Hamas-made video they had received months earlier showed her and Mrs. Ariev in captivity.

In an interview with Maariv, an Israeli newspaper, the father of Ms. Gilboa’s friend said the family felt mixed feelings about the video. “In her family, in addition to a sense of disappointment, there is also a sense of relief,” he said.

Face plate

Naama Levy, who is also now 20, is a triathlete who grew up in Raanana, a green city north of Tel Aviv, the forum said.

She texted her mother from a safe room on the day of the attack, according to a website aimed at campaigning for her release. “I’ve never heard anything like that,” she wrote.

Shortly after the attack, a Hamas video of her being taken to Gaza circulated on social media.

In an interview for a documentary about sexual violence during the attack, Ayelet Levy Sachar, Naama’s mother, said spoke about her daughter’s kidnapping. She was seen in a Hamas video wearing pajama pants, soaked in blood.

“They grab her by the hair and she’s all confused,” she said, adding: “We’d like to think that this wouldn’t be possible, that no one would harm a young girl. But then you just see it there.”