Hamas released four Israeli army soldiers on Saturday as part of a prisoner swap, more than a year after the women were captured during the Hamas attack on 7, 2023, which started the war.
In the release found on the ground, the four athletes wore military-style fatigues as they walked on stage in Gaza City. They left and smiled at the cheering crowd, they were little alone as the Hamas fighters in Balaclavas walked around.
The release of the detention order is part of a 42-day ceasefire that came into effect on Sunday, to halt fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas agreed to release 33 of the nearly 100 remaining Palestinian athletes imprisoned in Israel and Israel’s partial withdrawal.
Kidnappers have been rehired, working as “Spotters” for the Israeli army, reporting on suspicious activity across the border. During the Hamas-LED attack, the forces raided the NAHAAL OZ military bases in Israel, killing more than 50 soldiers and abducting women, who were young at the time, and other female soldiers.
In May, the Israeli military released a set of three-minute videos, confirmed by the New York Times, showing Palestinians beheading and handcuffing five women, including four who were released on Saturday. The footage was recorded by body cameras worn by the Hamas forces that kidnapped them, according to the captors and the families of the missing, representing relatives of many of the hostages.
Here’s what we know about the two organs that have been removed.
Liri Alvag
Ms. Albag, who dreamed of becoming an architect and interior designer, joined the Israeli army shortly after graduating from high school, according to a family statement.
His family expressed relief and joy to see him released. “It was far from what I expected, he looks healthy,” Ruhama Albag, his wife, said on live television. “He has a happy heart, he removes his hand, his spirit is not changed.”
In January, Hamas’ military wing released a edited video of Ms. Albag, now speaking for three and a half minutes, during which she said she had been held for more than 450 days.
In a statement at the time, the family of Ms. Albag said his “severe grief” was seen in the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other leaders to make decisions as if they were your children. “
“He appeared many kilometers away from us, yet for 456 days we failed to bring him home,” said the family.
Karina Aristi
Ms Aristi, 20, is the daughter of immigrants from Ukraine, and her family described her as a “connecting force” between friends and family, the Forum said.
He called his parents during the attack, describing soldiers firing guns and rockets, and told them he loved them, according to Israeli media. Her family later that day found a video Hamas shared on social media that showed Ms. Aristi and two other women in Jerep, bled from his face.
In August, Areed’s older sister, Sasha Aristi, said at an event in Jerusalem that she had moved home after the Oct. 7 Helping parents who are struggling.
The sister of Ms. Areeh Areev said the management problem is killing him. “How can I sleep when we can’t succeed in bringing Karina and all the other hostages home?” he said. “How can I sleep when I’m in my bed and you’re a seamstress?”
Daniella Gilboa
Daniella Gilboa, 20, is from Petah Tikva, in central Israel. At the time she was taken, Ms. Gilboa was studying piano and hoped to do well one day, Foramu said.
In July, Ms. Gilboa’s family released a video made by Hamas that they had obtained months earlier, which also showed Ms. Ariev in exile.
In an interview with Maariv, an Israeli newspaper, the Father of Ms. Gilboa’s boyfriend said that the family had mixed feelings over the video. “In his family, there is a sense of relief and a sense of disappointment,” he was quoted as saying.
Naama Levy
Naama Levy, also 20, is a worker who grew up in Raanana, a leafy city north of Tel Aviv, Forum said.
He wrote to his mother in a safe room on the day of the attack, according to a website dedicated to campaigning for his release. “I have never heard anything like this,” he wrote.
A Hamas video of his capture in Gaza was circulated on social media shortly after the attack.
In an interview for a book written about sexual violence during the attack, Ayet Levy Sachar, Nahaama’s mother, spoke about her daughter’s abduction. He was seen in a Hamas video in the fringes of PAJAMA, covered in blood.
“They grabbed her by the hair, and all, the boys, were confused,” he said, adding: “We would like to think that this will not happen, that no one can hurt the girl. But then you just see it there.”