After 477 days in captivity, Hamas freed four more Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire hostage deal. Guarded by heavily armed Hamas terrorists, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Liri Albag, 19, Naama Levy, 20, and Karina Ariev, 20, were paraded onto a stage.
All the girls were soldiers abducted from the Nahal Oz military post on October 7th.
They stood there smiling and wearing olive green fake army uniforms, in front of a sign declaring Palestinian victory over “Nazi Zionism”. They carried the Hamas “gift bags” like the girls did last week.
They were handed over to the Red Cross and then transferred to the IDF, who took them to an initial reception point to meet with their mothers and other family members. Friends who were watching live and interviewed on Israeli television expressed their joy at seeing the girls smiling.
Daniella Gilboa's family put out a statement saying, "Blessed are you, our God, who has provided us with life, and sustained us, and brought us to this moment. Our Daniella, Nushi, has survived 477 days in the hell of Gaza and has finally returned to our family's embrace. How we've prayed for this moment! We pray for Agam's swift return and for all those still held captive. Thank you, people of Israel, for all your prayers and support during this time - we couldn't have made it through without you."
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum released a statement noting that the cheerful appearance of the girls may not be entirely genuine.
“Just reminding journalists covering the release of today's round of hostages, who appear to be smiling in the pictures circulated, that medical specialists reported hostages returned in November - including small children - were drugged to keep them in a positive state upon their return,” it said.
The transfer was noticeably different from last week when Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher, and Romi Gonen were handed over to the Red Cross last week, hours late in the midst of a screaming crowd. On Saturday, the young women were handed over hours early.
The Prime Minister’s office issued a statement, emphasizing its commitment to freeing all the hostages.
“The Government of Israel embraces the four returnees, female soldiers of the IDF," the statement said.
It said Israel would release security prisoners but not allow Gazans into the northern Gaza Strip until female civilian Arbel Yehud is released because she was supposed to have been freed today.
IDF chief spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also made a statement.
“Today, we salute and embrace them and their families as they reunite just now after so long. We cannot and will not forget that 90 hostages - including women, children, and elderly men - still remain in brutal conditions in Hamas," Hagari said.
“We are determined to return Arbel Yehud, an Israeli citizen kidnapped from Nir Oz, and also Shiri Bibas and her two children, Kfir and Ariel, whose welfare we are extremely concerned about,” Hagari added.
He thanked the US, Qatar, and Egypt for their help.
Today’s hostages were released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners each because they are soldiers. Last week it was thirty per person.
There are still 26 hostages due to be released over the next few weeks as part of the first phase of the deal, among them dual American-Israeli citizens, in exchange for the hundreds and hundreds of convicted terrorists, some who committed multiple murders.
On day 16, talks are supposed to begin in the second stage of the Israeli-Hamas deal.
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