More than a year after the women were captured in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that started the war, Hamas on Saturday took four female soldiers as part of a hostage and prisoner exchange. Released.
The hostage release is part of a 42-day ceasefire agreement that took effect on Sunday and suspends fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas has agreed to gradually release more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and 33 of the nearly 100 remaining hostages in exchange for Israel’s partial withdrawal.
The young women worked as “spotters” for the Israeli military, reporting on suspicious activity across the border. During the Hamas-led offensive, insurgents stormed Israel’s Nahal Oz military base, killing more than 50 soldiers and abducting the woman and three other female soldiers, all of whom were teenagers at the time.
In May, the Israeli military released a collection of three-minute edited videos reviewed by The New York Times that showed Palestinian fighters wearing Hamas headbands, including four who were released on Saturday. The footage showed the hands of five women tied. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of many of the prisoners, said the video was recorded on a body camera worn by the Hamas militants who abducted them.
Here’s what we know about the four freed hostages.
lili albag
In January, Hamas’ military wing released an edited video of Albag, now 19, speaking for three and a half minutes, in which she said she had been detained for more than 450 days.
Albag’s family said in a statement that the video “clearly shows her severe emotional distress” and called on leaders to “make decisions as if their own child were there.”
“She is only tens of kilometers from us and we were unable to take her home for 456 days,” the family said.
Karina Aliyev
Aliyev, now 20, reportedly called his parents during the attack, explaining that the militants had fired guns and rockets and telling them he loved them. Israeli news media. Later that day, the family discovered a Hamas video posted on social media. The video showed Aliyev and two other women in the jeep, with blood flowing from her face.
In August, when Aliyev turned 20 in captivity, Aliyev’s older sister Sasha Aliyev said: Speaking at an event in Jerusalem She said she felt increasingly helpless after the Oct. 7 attack and moved home to help her struggling parents, who were struggling to maintain hope.
She said the hostage crisis was draining her. “How can I sleep if we haven’t been able to bring Karina and all the other hostages home safely?” she said. “How can you sleep when you’re in bed and she’s a hostage?”
Daniela Gilboa
Daniela Gilboa, 20, is from Petah Tikva in central Israel. In July, Gilboa’s family released a Hamas-produced video they had received several months earlier. I showed her and Mr. Aliyev in captivity..
In an interview with Israeli newspaper Maariv, the father of Ms Gilboa’s boyfriend said the family had mixed emotions after watching the video. “Her family feels a sense of disappointment and relief at the same time,” the man was quoted as saying.
Nama Levi
Naama Levi, also now 20, sent a text message to her mother from the safety of her room on the day of the attack, according to a website advocating for her release. “I’ve never heard of anything like this.” she wrote. A Hamas video of her being taken to Gaza went viral on social media shortly after the attack.
In an interview for a documentary about sexual violence during the attacks, Naama’s mother, Ayelet Levy Satchar, spoke about her daughter’s abduction. A Hamas video showed her in pajamas and covered in blood.
“They’re grabbing her by the hair and she’s messed up,” she said, adding, “We’d like to think that can’t happen. We want to make sure no one harms a young girl.” But you can just see it there.”
