JERUSALEM On Saturday, Hamas released four female Israeli soldiers held hostage in the Gaza Strip in a meticulously staged demonstration of force that demonstrated how dominant the group remains inside the enclave. Later Saturday, Israel released 200 Palestinian inmates to complete the swap, which was part of the initial six-week ceasefire agreement in the Gaza conflict. According to an Israeli official statement, the women were returned to Israel and reunited with their families after being held captive for more than 15 months. Crowds of Palestinians in Ramallah, West Bank, raised aloft returning captives, many of whom had been imprisoned for fatal militant attacks on Israelis.

The swap is viewed as a key test of how Israel and Hamas’ 42-day truce — the first stage of a multiphase accord — will unfold in the coming weeks. Mediators believe that the agreement would put a stop to the horrific war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed huge areas of the territory. Israel’s government named the four ladies as Karina Ariev (20), Daniella Gilboa (20), Naama Levy (20), and Liri Albag (19). All four were kidnapped from a military camp near Gaza where they were serving during the Hamas-led strike on October 7, 2023, which sparked the conflict.

On Saturday, in scenes broadcast live on Al Jazeera and watched anxiously in Israel, armed and masked Hamas fighters marched the four soldiers past a jubilant throng in central Gaza City. They paraded them onto a makeshift platform with a banner stating “Zionism will not prevail,” imprinted in Hebrew. Following a brief ceremony, Hamas fighters turned over the ladies to the International Committee of the Red Cross, who conveyed them to Israeli forces. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokeswoman, described Hamas’ demonstration of the four detainees as “a cynical show.”

Crowds of relatives, friends, and supporters gathered in central Tel Aviv, Israel, to see the live handover, cheering, chanting the captives’ names, and crying with pleasure. “After 477 tumultuous days of pain, worry, and endless anxiety — we finally got to embrace our beloved Karina,” Ariev’s family stated in a statement. Developments: ▪ Returning North: According to the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces will partially withdraw from a key zone in central Gaza following the transfer, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza. But that remained questionable Saturday as the Israeli prime minister’s office stated it would not let Palestinians to go north until the release of Arbel Yehud, one of the last civilian

▪ Israel released 200 Palestinian detainees on Saturday, many of them were serving life sentences for assaults against Israelis. According to a list provided by Palestinian authorities, around 70 people are being exiled overseas as a result of the agreement and will be denied the right to return to their homes in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

▪ Four soldiers: The hostages were recent recruits serving as “spotters” for Israel’s army, detecting suspicious behavior over the border. ▪ Ceasefire deal: Hamas agreed to free 33 of the almost 100 hostages who remained in Gaza during the first six weeks of the agreement. So far, it has issued seven, including four on Saturday. Israel promised to release around 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.