Four Israeli Hostages and 200 Palestinian Prisoners Released Under Gaza Ceasefire Agreement

As part of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire agreement, a number of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners were released for the second time; on Saturday, February 25, the extremist group Hamas first released four Israeli female soldiers, and shortly thereafter, 200 Palestinian prisoners were freed. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The four released hostages, named Liri Albag, Karina Arif, Daniela Gilboa, and Naama Levy, were handed over to Israel via the Red Cross and then transported by helicopter to a hospital near Tel Aviv. All four served in the Israeli army's observation unit at Kibbutz Nahal Oz and were kidnapped during a raid by Palestinian militants on October 7, 2023. Shortly after the release of these four hostages, the Israeli Prison Service announced that 200 Palestinian prisoners had been released from Ofer prison in the West Bank. Since Israel states that prisoners convicted of killing its citizens are not allowed to return home, Palestinian officials announced that about 70 of those released would initially be expelled to Egypt and from there to other countries. Other released prisoners were transferred to their homes in Gaza or the West Bank. The released Palestinians were taken to a sports center in Ramallah. The release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners was met with joy and public welcome on both sides. The release of the four female soldiers, while several women and civilian children remain hostages of Hamas, has been declared a violation of the ceasefire agreement. It was expected that a civilian woman named Arbel Yehud, aged 29, would be among the released hostages on Saturday, but she was not freed. Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated at a press conference that Hamas did not fulfill its commitment under the ceasefire agreement to prioritize the release of civilians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also announced that Palestinians would not be allowed to return to northern Gaza until this issue is resolved. The extremist group Hamas described the failure to release Arbel Yehud as a 'technical issue' and one of its officials stated that intermediaries had been informed she would be released next Saturday. According to Palestinian officials, about 650,000 displaced persons are waiting to return to northern Gaza starting Sunday. Meanwhile, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations announced in a letter to the Secretary-General that the activities of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jerusalem must cease by January 30 (February 11) and all its offices and facilities in the city must be evacuated. Based on a law passed by the Israeli parliament in November, UNRWA's activities will be banned in the country starting February 11, and its operations in Palestinian territories will also face restrictions. According to UN statistics, during the first six days of the ceasefire, more than 4,200 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip, but the number of these trucks decreased on Friday. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, only 339 aid trucks entered Gaza on Friday, while the agreement stipulated that this number should be at least 600 trucks. In recent days, the number of trucks carrying aid items has ranged from 630 to 897 trucks daily. On Friday, Reuters also reported that the extremist group Hamas has recruited between 10,000 to 15,000 new members since the beginning of the Gaza war and following the deaths of many of its members. US and Israeli officials have not yet reacted to this report. The current war in Gaza began after the extremist group Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. In response, Israel launched a military operation across the Gaza Strip, which, according to officials under Hamas, has so far resulted in over 46,000 deaths.