Gaza Genocide25 January, 20253 min read
Hamas Frees Four Female Israeli Soldiers, Swapping for 200 Palestinian Prisoners
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Four female Israeli soldiers freed by Hamas after 15 months, exchanged for 200 Palestinian prisoners. Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange, many serving life sentences.
Second exchange begins
Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers held in Gaza and handed them over to the Red Cross on Saturday, crossing into Israeli territory from Gaza as part of a ceasefire exchange that also included Israel freeing 200 Palestinian prisoners. The BBC said the swap brought “200 Palestinian prisoners” to “jubilant scenes in the West Bank” after Israel freed them in exchange for the four female hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The Spectrum News account described the four Israelis being paraded in front of a crowd of thousands in Gaza City’s Palestine Square before being led off to waiting Red Cross vehicles, with Israel’s Prison Service later saying it had completed the release of 200 Palestinians.
In the West Bank, the BBC reported that around 70 of the released prisoners were deported via Egypt to neighbouring countries including Qatar and Turkey, while just over 120 were allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The BBC also said the swap on Saturday was the second exchange since a ceasefire came into effect on 19 January, after “Three hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in the first swap.”
Hostage dispute and pressure
Israel said the ceasefire deal hit its first major complication because a female civilian hostage named Arbel Yehoud was supposed to be released on Saturday but was not, and France 24 reported that Israel and Hamas were accusing each other of violating the agreement. France 24 correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky reported from Tel Aviv that “Both sides are accusing each other of violating the agreement,” as mediators tried to resolve the dispute. The Spectrum News account said Israel would not allow displaced Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which had been expected to begin by Sunday, until Arbel Yehoud was freed, and it quoted a senior Hamas official saying Yehoud “will be released next week.”
In Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, France 24 reported a “bittersweet reaction” as a big screen showed the faces of the four female soldiers released on Saturday, while the White House said the United States would continue working towards “the release of all remaining hostages” in Gaza. The MPR News update added that the truce for Gaza continued for at least six weeks, but Israel said it would not allow the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza because the civilian hostage who was supposed to be released by Hamas had not been freed on Saturday.
Numbers, deaths, and next steps
The BBC reported that more than half of the 200 released had been serving life sentences in Israeli jails, and it named the youngest Palestinian prisoner released on Saturday as 16 years old and the oldest as 69-year-old Mohammed al-Tous, who had spent 39 years in jail.
The BBC also said the January ceasefire deal halted the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, and it reported that about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages.
MPR News said the Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 47,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities, and it noted that the ceasefire halted fighting in Gaza for at least six weeks.
Looking ahead, MPR News said the next exchange is expected on Feb. 1, while France 24 reported that the White House instructed the US military to release a hold imposed by Joe Biden’s administration on the supply of 2,000 pound bombs to Israel.
In parallel, MPR News reported that Israel’s military confirmed it would not complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday as outlined in its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, after Israel said Hezbollah and the Lebanese army hadn’t met their obligations and Lebanon accused the Israeli army of hindering the Lebanese military.