Israel-Hamas ceasefire: Who are the four female Israeli hostages set to be released today?

Honouring the prisoner exchange agreement as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel, Hamas announced that it would release four female hostages today.

The four female Israeli soldiers - Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy (all 20 years of age) and Liri Albag (19) – have been in custody since their capture in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, which killed more than 1,000 Israelis and eventually led to the 15-month long war with Israel. All four were all stationed at an observation post on the edge of Gaza at the time of the attack.

The Hostages Family Forum, which represents the families of hostages, confirmed their identities.

The six-week ceasefire agreement brought a much-needed break in the war between Israel and Hamas, which has left around 47,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza health authorities. The ceasefire deal was brokered by Qatar and Egypt, with the backing of the United States.

As per the deal, Israel would release 200 Palestinian hostages in exchange for the four, including more than 100 militants serving life sentences for the deadly attacks.

More than 90 Israelis are still in Hamas custody, and their relatives have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump to ensure the remaining hostages are freed. Though Hamas has not confirmed whether these prisoners are alive or not, Israel believes that a number of them are dead already.

Three Israeli hostages were released in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners on January 19, in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, in which, a total of 33 hostages are expected to be released in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. These will include women, children and the sick, and female soldiers, too.

Israel is expected to release the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed, soon.