ADDS QATARI FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT, DETAILS
By Ahmed Asmar
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, handed over four female Israeli soldiers on Saturday under a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Israel.
The four freed soldiers wearing the Israeli military uniform smiled and waved on a stage at Palestine Square in Gaza City as they were transferred to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Israeli army confirmed that the four freed soldiers were handed over to its forces in Gaza before being transferred to Israel.
The army said that the four soldiers were checked by doctors and that they were in relatively good physical condition.
"Their medical condition is normal, with no findings that require special medical intervention on the ground," army officials said.
Thousands of Palestinians gathered at the Palestine Square to witness the handover ceremony of the four Israeli soldiers, including dozens of fighters from Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades.
The four Israelis, whose names were submitted by Hamas on Friday, are Liri Albag, 19, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Karina Ariev, 20, and Naama Levy, 20.
They are members of the Israeli army’s surveillance unit at the Nahal Oz base.
During the handover process, ICRC representatives were taken on stage to sign a document ahead of the release of the four soldiers.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari, for his part, called the handover ceremony of the four female soldiers “cynical.”
“The mission will not end until all of them return to Israel,” he added.
Majid al-Ansari, spokesman of the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said: “As part of the second exchange since the ceasefire began, mediators announce the completion of the handover of 4 Israeli women hostages, one of whom holds a Bulgarian nationality, to the Israeli side in exchange for the release of 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.”
Some 200 Palestinian prisoners were also released Saturday in exchange for the four Israeli soldiers.
Televised footage showed the arrival of 114 prisoners in the West Bank city of Ramallah from the Ofer Military Prison aboard three International Red Cross buses.
Sixteen prisoners, accompanied by Red Cross representatives, also arrived at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, to the warm welcome of thousands.
Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel also reported that two buses carrying 70 freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in Egypt under the ceasefire agreement.
The Prisoners’ Media Office said early Saturday that the freed prisoners include 121 who had been serving life sentences and 79 with lengthy sentences.
It added that 70 of those serving life sentences will be sent outside the Palestinian territories.
The first six-week phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 47,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 111,400 since Oct. 7, 2023.
The three-phase ceasefire agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala