Hamas handed over four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross on Saturday during a highly staged public ceremony in Gaza. The hostages, wearing military fatigues and clutching Hamas-branded gift bags, were paraded on stage before a large crowd in Palestine Square, Gaza City.
Hundreds of Gaza residents gathered to witness the event, cheering and whistling as the women waved and gave thumbs-up gestures. This organised and well-secured handover sharply contrasted with chaotic scenes the previous week, when crowds overwhelmed vehicles during the previous hostage release.
Ahead of the release, around 200 armed fighters from Hamas’s Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades secured the area. Masked and heavily armed, they arrived in SUVs and motorcycles, establishing a cordon in the square.
The hostages were transported to the site in a convoy, and the release took place under the supervision of a Red Cross representative seated alongside a masked Hamas fighter. The two men signed “release certificates,” with the backdrop displaying a Palestinian flag and a slogan in Hebrew reading, “Zionism will not prevail.”
The female soldiers—Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag, aged 19 to 20—had been captured during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on an Israeli military base. Before their release, they were given commemorative gift bags containing items such as keychains, woolly hats, and certificates referencing the “Al-Aqsa Flood deal.”
After emerging from the stage to cheers, the hostages were transferred into Red Cross vehicles, which quickly departed through Gaza’s devastated streets.
This release comes after more than 15 months of ongoing conflict, during which Gaza has suffered widespread destruction by the Israeli military. The highly publicised handover reflects Hamas’s efforts to frame the event as a symbolic victory, even as international attention remains focused on humanitarian concerns in the region.
