FOUR young Israeli female soldiers have finally been handed over after 477 brutal days in Hamas captivity.
Karina Ariev, 20, Daniela Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Elbag, 19, were seen emerging from the heart of Gaza’s chaos in the second hostage release of Israel and Hamas’ ceasefire deal.
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The four soldiers were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, during the deadly assault on Israel’s Nahal Oz military base.
Their long-awaited release came as armed Hamas fighters surrounded the hostages and dozens of onlookers gathered at the square in Gaza City.
The women were seen waving from a stage before being handed over to the Red Cross.
They are now the second group of hostages to be released after three women, including Israeli-Brit Emily Damari, were freed last week.
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The young women were handed over to Red Cross vehicles in the heart of Gaza City, where militants paraded with guns raised, shouting slogans as crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the high-stakes exchange.
Their desperate families are said to be already en route to meet their daughters there for the first time in more than a year.
Under the terms of the fragile ceasefire, Hamas released the soldiers in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The four women are now expected to be driven to an Israeli army facility near the Gaza border, the IDF said earlier today.
There they will undergo physical and psychological evaluations before tearfully reuniting with their families in hospital.
For the hostages, the nightmare began on that fateful October morning, when Hamas stormed the Nahal Oz outpost.
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Videos from the attack showed the young women with their hands tied behind their backs, bloodied and pleading for mercy as Hamas terrorists tormented them.
Liri, just 19 at the time, had been a surveillance soldier for only three days.
Naama, 20, appeared in footage with blood-soaked clothes and visible wounds.
Daniela, also 20, was injured during her abduction and appeared in several Hamas propaganda videos.
And 20-year-old Karina was snatched alongside her fellow soldiers in the pre-dawn chaos.
Crowds gathered in Tel Aviv to watch the release, with dozens of Israelis tearing up at the hopeful scenes while holding posters of other hostages yet to be freed.
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