Gaza ceasefire: Israel, Hamas complete second swap of hostages, prisoners

Gaza: Hamas handed over four female Israeli soldiers it had held captive in Gaza and hundreds of jailed Palestinian militants were freed on Saturday under the second swap of a week-old ceasefire deal.

The transfer of Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, all aged 20, and Liri Albag, 19, took place in a battle-shattered public square which Hamas, in a show of survival and defiance after 15 months of war, lined with masked and uniformed gunmen under the gaze of flag-waving supporters.

Hours later, Israel freed 200 jailed Palestinians, including scores who were serving life terms for lethal attacks. The majority of the prisoners were transfered to Ramallah, while several dozen were released into Egypt. Another 16 were also sent to Gaza.

The transfer was the second made under the Qatari- and Egyptian-mediated ceasefire deal that was supervised by Washington, after three civilian women hostages were exchanged for 90 Palestinian detainees on Jan 19. Another 26 female, elderly or infirm hostages, along with hundreds more Palestinian prisoners, are due for release as part of an initial six-week truce. Several are believed to have died in captivity.

Freeing the remaining hostages could hinge on parlaying the deal into a de facto end to the war "- something Israel has refused to countenance so long as Hamas remains in power. Egypt has been hosting parallel talks on a potential power-share between Hamas and a rival Palestinian faction.

On Saturday, the four Israeli young women, dressed in khaki clothing resembling army fatigues, were led to a makeshift stage emblazoned with anti-Israel slogans. Smiling, they waved and gave thumbs-up signs at the whistling crowd before being taken to Red Cross jeeps, and were driven across the border into Israel, where family reunions and medical assessments awaited them.

The four had been serving as unarmed conscripts in a spotter unit when they were captured during the surprise Hamas cross-border raid of Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered a now-regional conflict.

Video of the incident showed them bloodied and stunned as they were carted away in their pajamas "- among some 250 people, mostly civilians, taken hostage while another 1,200 were killed in the bloodiest day of Israel's history.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed more than 47,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. Most of the impoverished enclave's 2 million Palestinians have been displaced and their infrastructure ravaged.