JERUSALEM (AP) —Hamas militants on Saturday released four female Israeli soldiers they held captive for 15 months for 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees in Israel.
It's the second exchange since a fragile ceasefire took effect last weekend, halting the fighting in Gaza for at least six weeks during which dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed while more aid flows in.
In return for the four soldiers, Israel freed 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees, including 120 militants serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks. The first exchange took place Sunday with the release of three Israeli hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. The war was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people.
Here's the latest:
Israel releases 200 Palestinian prisoners in a Gaza ceasefire deal after Hamas freed 4 soldiers
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah celebrated the arrival of buses carrying dozens of prisoners released as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Israel said it released a total of 200 prisoners after Hamas freed four young, female Israeli soldiers.
The prisoners include 120 who were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis. Around 70 were released into Egypt.
Israel warns Palestinians not to return to northern Gaza
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military is warning Palestinians in Gaza not to return to northern Gaza.
The army’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, published a post on social media telling Palestinians not to approach the east-west Netzarim route, which bisects Gaza.
Israel had been expected to open the route by Sunday as part of the latest stage of the ceasefire. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pullback was on hold because of delays in the release of an Israeli civilian woman from captivity in Gaza.
Mediators say they are trying to resolve the dispute.
Some Palestinian prisoners being released will be sent to other Arab countries
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The head of a Palestinian prisoner advocacy group says that some of the 70 convicted militants being transferred to Egypt after their release from Israeli prison will ultimately be sent to other Arab countries.
Abdullah al-Zaghari, the head of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club, told The Associated Press that Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey have all expressed willingness to receive some of those required to live in exile according to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
A total of 200 prisoners, 120 of them sentenced to life prison on charges related to deadly attacks against Israelis, were being freed Saturday after Hamas released four female soldiers from captivity in Gaza.
Al-Zaghari said that the details of how many of the 70 deported Palestinian prisoners will stay living in Egypt and how many will travel on to other countries are still being worked out.
Video shows freed hostages in an Israeli army base
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has released a video showing the freed hostages being welcomed at an army base in southern Israel.
Some of the hostages hugged the female soldiers who greeted them. One of them, Liri Albag, 19, smiled, gave two thumbs-up and made a heart shape with her hands before boarding a van.
Israel's president welcomes hostages home
JERUSALEM — Israel’s president has welcomed home the four female soldiers released from captivity.
“You are heroes,” President Isaac Herzog said in a post on X.
Herzog wished them healthy recoveries, but says the nation “will not rest” until all hostages return.
Israel releases 70 Palestinian prisoners into Egypt in Gaza ceasefire deal
CAIRO — Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV says Israel has released 70 Palestinian prisoners into Egypt under the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The network says they arrived at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.
Hamas had earlier released four female Israeli soldiers. Israel is expected to release a total of 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees, many of whom will be sent into exile.
Israel says it won't allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza until hostage Arbel Yehoud is released
JERUSALEM — Israel says it will not allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza until Arbel Yehoud, one of the dozens of hostages held by Hamas, is released.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Yehoud was supposed to have been released Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Hamas had earlier released four female Israeli soldiers.
Israeli army spokesman criticizes Hamas' display of hostages
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the released hostages are “in our hands” and on their way home.
In a televised statement Saturday, Hagari criticized what he called the “cynical” public display of the young women by Hamas before their release.
He also said that Israel is concerned about the fate of the two youngest hostages — Kfir and Ariel Bibas — and their mother Shiri. Kfir Bibas marked his second birthday in captivity earlier this month.
Hagari says the army is committed to bringing all hostages home.
Palestinians release a list of 200 prisoners to be released from Israel
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian authorities have released a list of 200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees expected to be released from Israel in exchange for four female Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza.
The list includes 120 militants serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. The rest are serving lengthy sentences.
The list shows that 70 of the prisoners will not be allowed to return to their homes in the occupied West Bank or Jerusalem and will be required to live in exile. It’s unclear exactly where they will go.
The more notorious militants being released include Mohammad Odeh, 52, and Wael Qassim, 54, both from east Jerusalem. They were accused of carrying out a series of deadly Hamas attacks against Israelis, including a bombing at a cafeteria at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2002 that killed nine people, including five U.S. citizens.
Another prisoner set to be released is Mohammed Aradeh, 42, an Islamic Jihad militant, who become something of a Palestinian folk hero in 2021 along with five other prisoners after they used spoons to tunnel their way out of Israel’s most secure prison in an extraordinary escape that stunned Israelis and Palestinians alike.