Hamas said on Friday it will release four female soldiers held hostage for more than a year in Gaza as part of a hostage-for-prisoner swap that will take place on Saturday, as Israelis and Palestinians anxiously await the next steps in the deal.
In a statement, Hamas named the four women, who were abducted from a military base near Gaza during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023 that kicked off the war. Israel said mediators between the two sides forwarded a list of names of hostages scheduled for release on Saturday, without confirming their identities.
Mediators hope the six-week truce between Israel and Hamas, which began Sunday, could lay the groundwork for a permanent end to the war in Gaza. But next weekend could prove a crucial test for the deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Israel is expected to release around 200 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday in exchange for the four female hostages, including some sentenced to life in prison for involvement in attacks against Israelis.
The truce also stipulated that as soon as the four hostages were released, Israeli forces would have to partially withdraw from a large area in central Gaza to allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to begin returning to their homes in the devastated north.
And Hamas also pledged to provide Israel with information on Saturday on the conditions of other hostages who will be released during the six-week truce, said two Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss delicate diplomacy.
Israel has long asked which hostages were still alive after more than 15 months of captivity in Gaza. Hamas refused to provide information, and some officials said they could not even confirm their status before a truce allowed its fighters to move and communicate freely.
The 42-day ceasefire agreement took effect on Sunday, pausing fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas agreed to release 33 of the remaining hostages in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel and a partial Israeli withdrawal. During the pause, both sides agreed to discuss terms for a longer ceasefire.
Many on both sides saw the agreement as a bittersweet moment. Gazans were grateful for the truce after 15 months of war that has killed tens of thousands of people, even as they feared for their future in the enclave, much of which has been reduced to rubble.
Israelis experienced a moment of collective euphoria over the release of three female hostages: Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31. But their joy was tempered by scenes of Hamas fighters parading through the streets of Gaza in a show of force, despite promises by Israeli leaders to destroy the group. As part of that exchange, Israel released 90 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that Israeli authorities say killed around 1,200 people and saw 250 people taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military campaign against Hamas in Gaza killed at least 45,000 people, according to local health officials, whose statistics make no distinction between civilians and fighters.
Around 94 hostages still remain in Gaza, dozens of whom are presumed dead, according to Israeli authorities. They include Israeli soldiers, male civilians, women and Thai migrant workers.