The four young women, who have been held as hostages for over 400 days, are all military personnel who had not yet turned 20 years old when they were taken by Hamas and brought to Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy are all 20 years old today, Liri Albag 19.
Present at the prisoner exchange in Gaza City were members of Hamas' armed forces, al-Qassam brigades, and Islamic Jihad's al-Quds brigades. Something that is unprecedented, according to Al Jazeera's reporter on the spot, Anas al-Sharif.
This is a signal that they are fighting close together, that they are closely coordinated and that they are taking control of the situation, he says.
At the prisoner exchange, the four hostages went up on a stage where they smiled and waved to the crowd that had gathered. They were all dressed in uniforms and had their hair tied up. Then they were taken to the Red Cross vehicles, which subsequently left the square.
Broadcast on TV in Israel
The women have undergone a first medical examination and are being taken to the hospital for further examination.
When the four hostages were handed over to the Red Cross, joy erupted on a square in Tel Aviv where family and friends of the hostages had gathered.
Large screens showed the exchange in real-time, and people were seen crying, laughing, and hugging each other while holding up signs with names and photos of the hostages.
Israel claims that Hamas is breaking the agreement on the ceasefire in Gaza – which states that all civilian women should be released before women in the military. Therefore, they will not allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza until Arbel Yehoud, one of the civilian hostages held by Hamas, is released.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu means that Yehoud should have been released on Saturday.
About 250 people were taken as hostages in the October attack on Israel. Over 90 of them are believed to be in Gaza, but the Israeli military estimates that a third of them are dead.
200 Palestinian prisoners
On Saturday, 200 Palestinian prisoners who have been held in Israel were also released. About 120 of them are serving life sentences for, among other things, murder. The youngest prisoner is 15 years old, according to Al Jazeera.
Mohammed al-Tous, the Palestinian prisoner who has spent the longest time in Israeli prison, is among those released. 69-year-old Tous has been imprisoned since 1985 and is a member of Fatah, the movement founded by the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, according to the non-governmental organization Palestinian Prisoners' Club, writes AFP.
About half of the prisoners will be allowed to return to their homes on the West Bank, and nearly 70 will be deported to areas outside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A smaller number of prisoners will be sent to Gaza.
Phase one:
Will last for six weeks, during which Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages.
Israel will release over 730 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, as well as over 1,100 who have been detained by the military in Gaza as part of the war.
Israel will make some initial military withdrawals from key areas in Gaza.
Much more aid and supplies will be allowed into the population.
Negotiations on the forms of the next phase will begin.
Phase two:
Hamas will release all remaining hostages who are alive.
Israel will release more imprisoned Palestinians.
The Israeli military will begin a complete withdrawal.
Phase three:
Hamas will hand over the remains of dead hostages.
A three-to-five-year reconstruction of Gaza will begin under international supervision.
Border crossings to the area will be opened.
