4 Israeli female soldiers to be released from Hamas captivity today

The Hamas militant group on Friday said Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19 would be released on Saturday as part of the ceasefire agreement, which calls for the release of 33 hostages held in Gaza as well as hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli detention.

All four of the women on the Hamas list are Israel Defense Forces observation troops and were abducted from their base in Nahal Oz during Hamas' attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Hamas list of hostage release names violates ceasefire deal, report says

Israeli media report that the list of names of hostages set to be released Saturday by Hamas is in violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

The list named four Israel Defense Forces observation troops but did not include Arbel Yehoud, the last female civilian hostage.

Israeli officials said earlier this week that they expected her to be released this weekend, The Times of Israel reported.

The paper reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Israel’s security chiefs were holding consultations regarding how to respond.

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement requires the militant group to release all of the female civilian hostages before moving on to the category of female soldiers, followed by elderly hostages, followed by seriously ill hostages.

Israel has agreed to release 50 detained Palestinians for every female soldier, officials have said. That suggests that 200 Palestinians would be released in return for the four Israeli women.

Netanyahu's office confirmed in a statement that the list had been received from the mediators and that an Israeli response would come later. 

Israel registers objection to Hamas list, will go ahead with exchange

Israeli authorities have told the mediators of the ceasefire and hostage-release agreement with Hamas that the list of four hostages the militant group published violates the terms of the agreement, Israeli Channel 12 reported.

Hamas told mediators that it remains committed to the deal and that the four Israel Defense Forces troops will be released on Saturday.

Arbel Yehud, one of the last female civilian hostages believed to still be alive, is being held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, not Hamas. The ceasefire agreement called for civilian women to be released ahead of military personnel.

Following consultation with military and intelligence leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to move forward with the list that Hamas has provided.

Channel 12 reported that participants in the meeting determined that, while Hamas violated the agreement, the violation was not serious enough to blow up the entire deal.