Karina Ariev, one of the captives to be freed, and her mother. Credit: @Bring_Daughters, Twitter.
Hamas plans to release four captive females from Gaza this weekend as part of an ongoing ceasefire agreement deal between the armed collective and Israel, and they have published the names of the hostages today, January 24.
The group in question being held in Gaza by Hamas are all female IDF observation soldiers who were taken from their base in Nahal by the extremist group during a surprise attack on southern Israel in October 2023, when the base became flooded with Hamas troops.
Names of the four women
The four women held in Gaza for over 15 months, set to be finally freed this weekend are: Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag.
Arbel Yehoud, the remaining female civilian of the group and a fifth, had already been identified by Israeli officials and will also be expected to be freed this weekend, along with the four other women.
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed to news outlets that Hamas had given the names of the additional hostages to be released, but there was no immediate confirmation of this, or their names.
Israel will release Palestinians next, as part of ceasefire deal
According to the ceasefire deal, Israel will next publish a list of which Palestinians being held in Israeli jails it will release this weekend, as to keep to the procedure clearly laid out for the two sides, and keep a civil proceeding on matters.
The first exchange took place last Sunday, with three Israeli civilian hostages being set free from their perilous captivity, and some 90 Palestinian prisoners also being freed.
Hundreds more Palestinians and dozens more Israeli citizens are set to be released in the coming weeks, as more humanitarian assistance floods Gaza and seeks to contribute to the end of this brutal and bloody war once and for all.
Keep up with the latest news on the Gaza war here.
