As part of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Hamas releases four Israeli troops.

The Red Cross in Gaza received the four soldiers—Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag.

In accordance with a ceasefire deal intended to put an end to the 15-month-old conflict in Gaza, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Saturday freed four female Israeli soldiers in return for a group of roughly 200 other Palestinian inmates.

The Red Cross in Gaza received the four soldiers—Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag. According to AFP, they were subsequently turned up to Israeli military personnel.

When Hamas rebels overran their outpost during the October 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel, the four troops, who were all based at an observation post on the border of Gaza, were kidnapped.

According to Reuters, which cited a Palestinian source, Islamic Jihad was holding one of the troops.

The most recent interaction is the second since Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on January 19. In the initial exchange, Hamas had given over 90 Palestinian inmates in return for three Israeli civilians.

Israel-Gaza ceasefire
After months of intermittent talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt with support from the US, the ceasefire deal has put an end to hostilities for the first time since a one-week truce in November 2023.

As Israeli troops withdraw from part of their positions in the Gaza Strip, Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages, including women, children, elderly men, and the sick and injured, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian inmates in Israeli jails during the deal's first six-week phase.

In a later stage, the two parties would discuss the release of Israeli forces from Gaza, which is mostly in ruins following 15 months of conflict and Israeli shelling, as well as the exchange of the remaining captives, including men of military age.

After the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught, in which militants killed 1,200 people and returned more than 250 hostages to Gaza, Israel began its campaign in Gaza.