Hamas releases four Israeli soldiers captured in Oct. 2023

Hamas has released four female Israeli soldiers it had captured during Operation al-Aqsa Flood on Oct. 7, 2023 under a truce deal in the Gaza war. 

In exchange for the release of the captives on Saturday, the Israeli regime is expected to release 200 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

The four soldiers were presented on a stage at a main square in Gaza City, where dozens of Hamas fighters had gathered earlier, and handed over to the Red Cross. 

The Israeli military confirmed having taken custody of the soldiers, saying they were being accompanied by special forces and Shin Bet agents on their return to the occupied territories, "where they will undergo an initial medical assessment".  

The four, all Israeli soldiers dressed in military fatigues, had been held captive in the Palestinian territory since Hamas captured them during their landmark operation.

They appeared to be in good condition and were seen smiling as each carried a bag and waved to the crowd in Gaza City’s Palestine Square where the stage was adorned with the message, in Hebrew, "Zionism will not prevail".

Among the 200 Palestinians to be released by Israel, 121 are serving life sentences as follows:

- 81 life sentences from Hamas

- 23 life sentences from Islamic Jihad

- 13 life sentences from Fatah

- 2 life sentences from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

- 1 life sentence from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine 

The dean of Palestinian prisoners, Mohammed al-Tous from Bethlehem, who has been imprisoned since 1985, is included on the list of prisoners set to be released.

According to Israel's prison authority, some of the Palestinians to be released will go to Gaza, with the rest returning to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, carrying assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, gathered in rows, as crowds of Gaza residents gathered to watch the handover.

The handover of the four Israeli captives was a clear message that the “command and control of Hamas is intact and other Palestinian factions as well”, according to Muhanad Seloom, an assistant professor in critical security studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar.

The exchange is part of a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect last Sunday, and which is intended to pave the way to a permanent end to the war.

The ceasefire agreement should be implemented in three phases, but the last two stages have not been finalized yet.

During the first, 42-day phase, 33 captives Israel believes are still alive should be freed in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Three captives returned to Israeli settlements on the first day of the truce last Sunday and 90 Palestinians, mostly women and minors, were released in exchange.

Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau based in Qatar, said Palestinians displaced by the war to southern Gaza should be able to begin returning to the north following Saturday's releases. 

Families displaced by more than a year of the Israeli war long to return home, but many are about to find only rubble where houses once stood.

Almost the entire Gaza population of 2.4 million has been displaced by the war. 

According to the United Nations, nearly 69 percent of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged. The UN Development Programme estimated last year that it could take until 2040 to rebuild all destroyed homes.

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