Names of Four Israeli Women Announced for Exchange in Second Ceasefire Phase

On Friday, February 5, Hamas announced the names of four Israeli female soldiers who will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the second swap based on the ceasefire agreement. According to Reuters, Karina Arif, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag will be freed on Saturday, February 6. This exchange is expected to take place on Saturday afternoon, following the release of three Israeli women and 90 Palestinian prisoners on the first day of the ceasefire last Sunday, marking the first exchange of this kind in over a year. Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed that the list of hostages to be released was received from mediators. Israeli media reported that the list of hostages does not match the initial agreement, but it is still unclear whether this will affect the exchange. A Hamas official told Reuters that Israel has requested through mediators to replace one of the soldiers, Albag, with a civilian woman named Arbel Yehud. He did not provide details but stated that the reason for this request is technical issues and the field situation. In the first phase of the six-week ceasefire, Israel agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for each female soldier freed. This indicates that 200 Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for these four soldiers. The media office of Hamas prisoners announced that they will likely receive the names of these 200 Palestinians in the coming hours and added that this list is expected to include 120 prisoners serving life sentences and 80 prisoners with other long-term sentences. Since the release of three female hostages last Sunday and the discovery of the body of an Israeli soldier missing for a decade, Israel has stated that 94 Israeli and foreign citizens are being held in Gaza. The multi-phase ceasefire agreement, reached after months of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States, has halted the war for the first time since November 2023, following a ceasefire that lasted only a week. In the first phase, Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails. In the next phase, both sides will negotiate the exchange of remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The phased release of hostages has been met with protests and concerns from some Israelis who say that after the release of women, children, the elderly, and sick hostages in the first phase, the agreement may fall apart, leaving the fate of male hostages of military age uncertain. Several Israeli officials, including the Minister of Finance, have called for the resumption of war at the end of the first phase.