Masked Hamas gunmen parade Israeli women in ‘cynical’ hostage handover

Four Israeli hostages were released on Saturday amid growing anger in Israel at the “psychological warfare” waged with them by Hamas.

The young women were paraded on stage in Gaza City by masked Hamas gunmen, before being handed over to the Red Cross which took them back to Israel for the first time in 477 days.

In a carefully choreographed stunt in central Gaza City, the four women smiled, waved and gave a thumbs-up on stage, as they were presented to a crowd of Hamas fighters brandishing assault rifles and grenade launchers.

Later on Saturday, the hostages – released under a continuing truce that also set free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners – safely crossed the border into Israel to be reunited with their families.

While the Hamas footage of the release was clearly intended to show the women in high spirits, earlier videos of their capture and imprisonment in October 2023 showed them covered in cuts and bruises, with one bleeding through her trousers.

Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said of the stunt: “Hamas is a murderous terror group. In the last few hours Hamas proved its cruelty by organising a cynical ceremony.”

Israel accused Hamas of breaching the terms of the deal, saying it had also been expecting the release of Arbel Yehud, a 29-year-old civilian. Israel also expressed deep concern on the status of Shiri Bibas, 33, and her two young children, Kfir and Ariel.

Hamas claims that they were killed in an Israeli air strike, while Israel has not confirmed their deaths.

Their relatives said their “world came crashing down” when they realised their loved ones were not being released on Saturday.

‘Extremely concerned’

Hamas “failed to meet its obligations” to prioritise civilian hostages ahead of soldiers, Rear-Adml Hagari said. He added: “We are determined to return Arbel Yehud, and also Shiri Bibas and her two children, Kfir and Ariel, whose welfare we are extremely concerned about.”

Ms Yehud is alive and well and is to be released next Saturday, according to Hamas.

The four Israeli women – Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all 20, and Liri Albag, 19 – had been held captive for more than 15 months since Hamas’s Oct 7 massacre in southern Israel.

Israel later on Saturday released 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the four, and work continues to release dozens of Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, prisoners released by Israel, dressed in tracksuits and with shaved heads, were greeted by ecstatic crowds of Palestinians.

The four Israeli women released were members of a mainly female unit of observers stationed near the Gaza border to monitor Hamas activity when they were kidnapped on Oct 7 2023.

Grim footage of the four being captured at the Nahal Oz Israeli military base was aired on Israeli TV last year, showing them bloodied, handcuffed, in a state of shock and still dressed in their pyjamas.

Their families approved the broadcast to increase pressure on the Israeli government to secure their release.

Videos also circulated on the internet in the hours following their capture. Ms Levy was seen in one clip being bundled into a Jeep, with bloodstains on the seat of her trousers, as Hamas fighters chanted “God is greatest” in Arabic.

Ms Albag was taken hostage just a day and a half into her Israeli military service, while Ms Ariev was able to send her family a message of goodbye just before she was captured.

In contrast, photos released on Saturday by the Israel Defence Force showed the emotional moments the women were reunited with their families – smiling, hugging and holding hands – for the first time since Oct 7 2023.

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Albag’s family said: “The feeling of relief and happiness envelops us after 477 long and unbearable days of nerve-wracking waiting… [We are] proud of her steadfastness in the impossible conditions.”

Relatives of Ms Ariev said: “Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude and happiness. After 477 long and harrowing days of pain, worry and endless anxiety, we were finally able to hug our beloved Karina, hear her voice, and see her smile that fills us with light again.”

In the current first phase of the ceasefire, which began last Sunday, Israeli hostages are to be released in groups, in return for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails.

In the second phase, negotiations on ending the Israel-Hamas war will begin – but experts say there is a high risk of those talks collapsing due to lack of trust on both sides.

“The worry and fear that the deal will not be implemented to the end is eating away at all of us,” Vicky Cohen, the mother of Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli hostage, told the AFP news agency.

The White House also welcomed the release, saying the four women’s freedom was secured by Donald Trump, the US president, and promising to work with Israel for the release of the remaining hostages.

“The United States will continue with its great partner Israel to push for the release of all remaining hostages and the pursuit of peace throughout the region,” the White House said.

Hostage families called on Mr Trump on Saturday to pressure Israel’s prime minister into ending the war and bringing their loved ones home.

In its surprise Oct 7 attack on southern Israel, Hamas killed 1,210 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages.

It is understood that 91 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, of whom 34 have died according to the Israeli military.

Israel retaliated with a massive aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, killing 47,283 people according to the Hamas-run Gazan health ministry, a figure that the UN considers broadly accurate.