As part of ceasefire agreement, Hamas releases more hostages
Hamas Release of Seven Israeli Field Observers in Gaza City During the First Phase of the Inter-Israeli Freeze-Out Agreement
So far, seven Israelis, all women, have been released from Hamas’ captivity as part of the ceasefire agreement. Israel plans to release 1,900 Palestinians during the first phase of the ceasefire deal in exchange for 90 of them being freed last week.
Liri Albag, 19; Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20 and Naama Levy, 20, were handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on Saturday morning, and then transferred to an Israeli convoy to be driven across the border into Israel, the Israeli military said.
The handover took place at Palestine Square in Gaza City. Phalanxes of armed fighters in uniform, wearing black balaclavas and signature green headbands, were arrayed around the square. Spectators clambered on rubble and wrecked vehicles to get a look, waving Palestinian and Hamas flags.
The Hamas-organized event was in sharp contrast to the first handover of hostages last Sunday, when three Israeli civilian women were released amidst an unruly crowd.
The four young women, who were in their pajamas when they were taken captive 476 days ago, were paraded in soldiers’ uniforms onto a stage at the head of the square in Gaza City. Behind them banners with slogans condemned Israel.
Hamas forced hostages to smile and wave in order to convince the public that it treated them well, according to Israeli officials. A person who was publicly abused while being a hostage have reported it, as have other former hostages.
For the second time in a week, Hamas used the handing over of hostages to the Red Cross to project an image that it is still a powerful force in charge of the Gaza Strip, despite 15 months of a war that has killed thousands of its fighters and civilians, and reduced cities to rubble.
The four women released on Saturday were serving as field observers in Unit 414 of the Field Intelligence Battalion when Hamas militants stormed their base on the border with Gaza and set it on fire.
The Israeli military said that 66 soldiers were killed and seven women were taken hostage from the base. Agam Berger, 20, was one of three people who were not part of Saturday’s handover. Noa Marciano, 19, whose body was recovered by Israeli troops in Gaza in November 2023, and Ori Megidish, who was rescued in an military operation in October of that year.
Their fate has raised questions in Israel about the military’s failure to prevent the Hamas attack. The female observer team warned Hamas several times that an attempt to enter Israel was imminent, but the male commanders did not take the warnings seriously.
During Saturday’s handover, Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman, said that Hamas had proved its cruelty.
The hostages, all soldiers who were lookouts at a base on the Gaza border and abducted from there on Oct. 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led attack on Israel, arrived to the square in a convoy of midsize sport utility vehicles. The hostages were led onto the stage in military-style fatigues to make a point that they were soldiers, not civilians.
The handover of four hostages on Saturday was an even more performative stunt than the one last Sunday, when three other female hostages were released.
The Israeli Campaign is On: A Palestinian Square Despite Israel’s Attack and its Implications for the Stability of Zionism in Gaza City
On Saturday, Hamas set up a stage in Palestine Square in the center of Gaza City — an area devastated by Israel’s bombing campaign and ground incursion. A Hebrew-language banner with a message says that Zionism will not win. Hundreds of masked, uniformed fighters and civilians gathered nearby.
