Four female Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas and handed over to the Red Cross as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
This is the second round of hostages released by the group since the ceasefire came into effect on Sunday.
As per visuals that are going viral on social media platforms, the hostages were brought in military uniforms and made to stand on podium and wave.
The vehicle carrying them left for Israel after they were handed over to the Red Cross.
Confirming the development, Israel Defense Forces posted on X: “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 four released hostages were identified as Liri Albag, 19, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Karina Ariev, 20, and Naama Levy, 20.
They are the four among the seven female soldiers abducted by the group from the Nahal Oz army base during the attack on October 7, 2023.
According to reports, Hamas expects Israel to release 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal.
The Hamas Prisoners Media Office said in a statement as quoted by CNN on Friday that it expects “120 prisoners with life sentences and 80 prisoners with high sentences” to be released “according to what was stipulated in the ceasefire agreement”.
Earlier, three hostages were released as part of the ongoing deal.
Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were freed by the group on Sunday.
In exchange for them, 90 Palestinian prisoners were freed by Israel.
