Israel and Hamas exchange prisoners and hostages
Hamas released four Israeli army soldiers on Saturday as part of a hostage exchange for prisoners, more than a year after women were imprisoned in a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on September 1. October 7, 2023, war begins.
In a choreographed release, four hostages wore military-style fatigues as they took to a stage in Gaza City. They waved and smiled at a cheering crowd, grinning at each other as Hamas fighters in Balaclavas surrounded them.
The hostage release is part of the A 42-day ceasefire That took effect on Sunday, halting the war between Israel and Hamas. Hamas agreed to the incremental release of 33 of the nearly 100 remaining hostages in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel and a partial withdrawal of Israeli funds.
The hostages were recent recruits, working as spotters, for Israel’s military, reporting suspicious activity across the border. In the attack led by Hamas, militants stormed the Nahal Oz military base in Israel, killing more than 50 soldiers and kidnapping the woman, who was a teenager at the time, and three other female soldiers.
In May, the Israeli army released one Three-minute edited video collectionverified by The New York Times, showed Palestinian fighters, some wearing Hamas headbands, tying the hands of five women, including the four released on Saturday. The footage was captured by body cameras worn by the Hamas militants who kidnapped them, according to the hostages and missing families forum, which represents relatives of many of the captives.
Here’s what we know about the four released hostages.
Liri Albag
Ms. Albag, who dreamed of becoming an architect and interior designer, joined the Israeli army immediately after graduating from high school, according to a statement by the Hostage Families Forum.
Her family expressed relief and joy at her release. Far from what I expected, she looked very vibrant. She was cheerful, waving her arms, her spirit not broken.
In January, the military wing of Hamas Release an edited video Ms. Albag, now 19, spoke for three and a half minutes, during which she said she had been detained for more than 450 days.
In a statement at the time, Ms. Albag’s family said that her severe psychological distress was evident in the video and asked that Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and leaders else make decisions as if your child were there.
She was only dozens of kilometers away from us, but for 456 days we could not bring her home, the family said.
Karina Ariev
Ms. Ariev, 20, was the daughter of immigrants from Ukraine, and her family described her as a connecting force between friends and family, Family Forum said.
She called her parents during the attack, described the militants firing guns and missiles, and told them she loved them, according to Israeli news media. Her family later that day found a Hamas video posted on social media showing Ms. Ariev and two other women in a jeep, her face bleeding, they said.
In August, Ms. Ariev’s sister, Sasha Ariev, said at an event in Jerusalem Talk about moving home after the October 7 attacks to help struggling parents who were feeling increasingly helpless.
Ms. Ariev’s sister says the hostage crisis is consuming her. “How can I sleep when we failed to bring Karina and all the other hostages home?” she said. “How can I sleep when I’m in bed and she’s a hostage?”
Daniella Gilboa
Daniella Gilboa, 20, is from Petah Tikva, in central Israel. At the time of her kidnapping, Ms. Gilboa was taking piano lessons and hoped to perform professionally one day, the forum said.
In July, Ms. Gilboa’s family released a video made by Hamas that they had received months earlier had her and Ms. Ariev imprisoned.
In an interview with Maariv, an Israeli newspaper, the father of Ms. Gilboa’s boyfriend said the family was feeling mixed emotions over the video. In her family, there was a feeling of relief coupled with a sense of disappointment, he was quoted as saying.
Naama taxes
Naama Levy, also now 20, is a triathlete who grew up in Raanana, a leafy town north of Tel Aviv, the forum said.
She texted her mother from a safe room on the day of the attack, according to a website focused on her release campaign. “I’ve never heard anything like this,” she wrote.
A Hamas video of her being taken to Gaza circulated on social media shortly after the attack.
In an interview for a documentary about sexual violence during the attack, Ayelet Levy Sachar, Naama’s mother, talking about his daughter’s kidnapping. She was seen in a Hamas video in her pajama bottoms, drenched in blood.
“They were pulling her hair, and she was, like, messing up,” she said, adding: “We want to think that this isn’t possible, that no one would harm a young girl.” But then you just see it there.
