Hamas frees four Israeli hostages in Gaza under truce deal

Four freed Israeli women hostages were home in Israel Saturday, ending more than 15 months of captivity after Hamas militants handed them over to the Red Cross under a truce deal in the Gaza war.

The deal is also expected to see a second group of Palestinian prisoners freed.

An AFP journalist witnessed the handover after the four were presented on a stage at a main square in Gaza City, where dozens of masked, armed Palestinians had gathered earlier.

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and Liri Albag, 19, are all soldiers. Dressed in military fatigues, they smiled and waved on a stage in Gaza City adorned with the message, in Hebrew, "Zionism will not prevail".

In Tel Aviv, where a crowd gathered to watch the release on a large TV screen at a plaza known as Hostage Square, there were tears of joy and applause as Israeli flags waved.

After their handover to the Red Cross, Israel's military said the women were then transferred back into Israel.

Armed Fighters from Hamas gathered in rows, many carrying their groups' banners and wearing green headbands, as crowds of Gaza residents gathered to watch the handover in Gaza City.

On Saturday, Palestinian sources said Israel is to free 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages.

Palestinians displaced by the war to southern Gaza should be able to begin returning to the north following Saturday's releases, Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau based in Qatar, told AFP on Friday.

The truce has also led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza, but Israel's UN ambassador on Friday confirmed that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Gaza's main aid agency, must end all operations in Israel by Thursday.

The hostage-prisoner exchange is part of a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect last Sunday, and which is intended to pave the way to a permanent end to the war.

Mediators Qatar and the United States announced the agreement days ahead of US President Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump has since claimed credit for securing the deal after months of fruitless negotiations.

Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, said on Telegram Friday that "as part of the prisoners' exchange deal, the Qassam brigades decided to release tomorrow four women soldiers".

'Worry and fear'

According to Israel's prison service, some of the Palestinians released will go to Gaza, with the rest returning to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The ceasefire agreement should be implemented in three phases, but the last two stages have not yet been finalised.

"The worry and fear that the deal will not be implemented to the end is eating away at all of us," said Vicky Cohen, the mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen.

In Gaza, families displaced by more than a year of war longed to return home, but many will find only rubble where houses once stood.

"Even if we thought about returning, there is no place for us to put our tents because of the destruction," Theqra Qasem, a displaced woman, told AFP.

During the first, 42-day phase that began Sunday, 33 hostages Israel believes are still alive should be freed in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Three hostages -- Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher -- returned home on the first day of the truce.

Ninety Palestinians, mostly women and minors, were released in exchange.

The deal's second phase is to see negotiations for a more permanent end to the war, but analysts have warned it risks collapsing because of the deal's multi-phase nature and deep distrust between Israel and Hamas.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since October 7, 2023 Hamas attack has killed over 47,000 people, created a massive humanitarian crisis, and widespread displacement.

Hamas’ cross-border raid into Israeli territory claimed over 1,200 lives. It also took more than 250 people captive.

'Situation remains dire'

Almost the entire Gaza population of 2.4 million has been displaced by the war

According to the United Nations, by December 1, nearly 69 percent of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed or damaged, and the UN Development Programme estimated last year that it could take until 2040 to rebuild all destroyed homes.

Hundreds of truckloads of aid have entered Gaza daily since the ceasefire began, but the UN says "the humanitarian situation remains dire".

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, will be effectively barred from operating as of Thursday.

In a letter addressed to United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Ambassador Danny Danon confirmed: "UNRWA is required to cease its operations in Jerusalem, and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city, no later than 30 January 2025."

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned on social media platform X on Friday that preventing the agency from operating "might sabotage the Gaza ceasefire, failing once again hopes of people who have gone through unspeakable suffering."