Hamas on Friday announced the names of four Israeli women soldiers to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the second swap under the ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag would be released on Saturday, the group said.
The exchange, expected to begin on Saturday afternoon, follows the release on the ceasefire’s first day last Sunday of three Israeli women and 90 Palestinian prisoners, the first such exchange for more than a year.
In the six-week first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier released, officials have said. That suggests that 200 Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for the four.
Since the release of the three women on Sunday and the recovery of the body of an Israeli soldier missing for a decade, Israel says 94 Israelis and foreigners remain held in Gaza.
Gazans ready tent camps for families returning to north after ceasefire
The ceasefire agreement, worked out after months of on-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States, halted the fighting for the first time since a truce that lasted just a week in Nov. 2023.
In the first phase, Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In a subsequent phase, the two sides would negotiate the exchange of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which lies largely in ruins after 15 months of fighting and Israeli bombardment.
More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to health authorities there.
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