Hamas announces 4 female hostages to be released in second exchange with Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the list had been received from the mediators.

Israeli media reported that the list of hostages to be released was not in line with the original agreement, but it was not immediately clear whether this would have any impact on the planned exchange.

In the first six-week phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every soldier freed, officials said. This suggests that 200 Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange for the four.

Since the release of the first three women on Sunday and the recovery of the body of an Israeli soldier missing a decade ago, Israel says 94 Israelis and foreigners remain trapped in Gaza.

The ceasefire agreement, hammered out after months of on-and-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States, halted fighting for the first time since a week-long truce in November 2023.

In the first phase, Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.