Four Israeli female hostages are finally handed over by Hamas terrorists after being kidnapped 477 days ago on October 7
Four Israeli female hostages are finally handed over by Hamas terrorists after being kidnapped 477 days ago on October 7
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FOUR young Israeli female soldiers have finally been handed over after 477 brutal days in Hamas captivity. Karina Ariev, 20, Daniela Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Elbag, 19, were seen emerging from the heart of Gaza’s chaos in the second hostage release of Israel and Hamas' ceasefire deal.
![[Photos of four Israeli women hostages, Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Karina Ariev, and Daniella Gilboa.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-named-four-israeli-women-966356691.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The four soldiers were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, during the deadly assault on Israel’s Nahal Oz military base. Their long-awaited release came as armed Hamas fighters surrounded the hostages and dozens of onlookers gathered at the square in Gaza City.
![[Release of hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1dc4c7d8-c25a-4d24-b689-ef01fe916a9a_b00d56.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The women were seen waving from a stage before being handed over to the Red Cross. They are now the second group of hostages to be released after three women, including Israeli-Brit Emily Damari, were freed last week. The young women were handed over to Red Cross vehicles in the heart of Gaza City, where militants paraded with guns raised, shouting slogans as crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the high-stakes exchange.
![[Palestinian fighters and women in military uniforms at a rally.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/e20c729c-dd56-4f9b-a363-55f7727e71db_0cd1f1.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Their desperate families are said to be already en route to meet their daughters there for the first time in more than a year. Under the terms of the fragile ceasefire, Hamas released the soldiers in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
![[Israeli military helicopters landing.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/israeli-military-helicopters-land-ahead-966471203.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The four women are now expected to be driven to an Israeli army facility near the Gaza border, the IDF said earlier today. There they will undergo physical and psychological evaluations before tearfully reuniting with their families in hospital. For the hostages, the nightmare began on that fateful October morning, when Hamas stormed the Nahal Oz outpost.
![[Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza City.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/palestinians-hamas-islamic-jihad-militants-966471265.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
