The terrorist group Hamas released four additional hostages from Gaza on Saturday after a ceasefire deal with Israel took effect nearly a week ago.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag — all of whom are members of the Israeli Defense Forces —were freed on Saturday in the second round of hostage releases.
In exchange, Israel was expected to free 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees, including 120 militants serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks.
The first round of hostage releases on Sunday freed Romi Gonen, Emily Demari, and Doron Steinbrecher.
Video from Palestine Square in Gaza shows the four newly released women hostages being taken from the cars. They are alive and walking, wearing uniforms.
‘The Red Cross has communicated that four Israeli hostages were transferred to them and are on their way toward IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,’ the IDF and Israeli Securities Authority said in a joint statement.
The four female soldiers were believed to have been, at least at one time, held all together.
Under the ceasefire deal, a total of 33 hostages are to be set free over the course of six weeks, including those already released, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Hamas agreed to release three female hostages on the first day of the deal, four on the seventh day and the remaining 26 over the next five weeks.
This is the second cease-fire achieved during the war that began more than a year ago.
The 15-month-long war in Gaza started when Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prompting military retaliation from Israeli forces. Nearly 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.