Hamas names four Israeli captives to be released in latest ceasefire swap

Hamas has announced the names of four Israeli female soldiers to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the second swap under the ceasefire in Gaza.

Those set to be released are soldiers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Danielle Gilboa and Naama Levy according to a short statement on Friday by Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the list had been received from the mediators. Israel’s response would be presented later, it said in a statement.

The exchange, expected to begin on Saturday afternoon, follows the release on Sunday, the ceasefire’s first day, of three Israeli women and 90 Palestinian prisoners, the first such exchange for more than a year.

In the six-week first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier freed, officials have said.

That suggests that 200 Palestinian prisoners would be released this weekend in return for the four Israelis.

However, some Israeli media reports indicated that the list did not align with the terms of the ceasefire and that Israel had been expecting certain civilians to be included in the latest list for release.

“Israel wanted civilians to be released first, then soldiers and then those who were deemed extremely ill as part of the first phase of this deal,” Al Jazeera’s Hamduh Salut reported from Amman, Jordan.

Since the release of the three women on Sunday and the recovery of the body of an Israeli soldier missing for a decade, Israel said 94 Israelis and foreigners remain held in Gaza.

The ceasefire, worked out after months of on-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States, halted the fighting for the first time since a truce that lasted just a week in November 2023.

In the first phase, Hamas has agreed to release 33 captives in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

In a subsequent phase, the two sides are to negotiate the exchange of the remaining captives and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which lies largely in ruins after 15 months of fighting and Israeli bombardments.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 47,283 Palestinians and wounded 111,472 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.