Four Israeli women are to be released by Hamas this Saturday, as part of the first phase of the agreement concluded between the Islamist movement and the Hebrew state.
Four Israeli women, detained in the Gaza Strip by Hamas since October 7, 2023, will be released by the Islamist movement this Saturday, January 25. This is part of the agreement concluded with the Jewish state in mid-January. The document provides for the release of 33 hostages by the end of February. In exchange, 1,900 Palestinians will have left Israeli prisons by then.
This Saturday, the first three Hamas captives, Romi Gonen, Emily Demari and Doron Steinbrecherregained freedom. This Friday, January 24, the terrorist organization published the names of the four Israeli hostages who will be handed over to Israel this Saturday.
They are four IDF soldiers: Karina Arif, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Elbag. The Jewish State, through the Prime Minister’s office, indicated that it had received this list. They were kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base.
• Liri Elbag, domestic “slave” for Hamas
Liri Elbag, aged 19, appeared, in tears and with her hands on her head, in a video released by the armed wing of Hamas in early January. Following this broadcast, his parents called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “make decisions as if they were his own children.”
“The video (…) broke our hearts, her family said in a statement. She is not the daughter and sister we know. She is not doing well, her serious psychological distress is obvious,” his family then said in a press release.
At a demonstration pleading for the hostages’ cause, her mother indicated that her daughter liked to travel and take photos. “There’s no music in the house because you’re the one singing… There’s no kitchen noise in the middle of the night… I miss you so much it hurts in the heart,” she wrote on her daughter’s 19th birthday.
Noa Argmani, an Israeli hostage released by the IDF in June 2024, explained that they had been detained for a while together.
“Noa told us that they were slaves. They had to clean the yard, wash the dishes and prepare the food that they were not allowed to eat,” Liri Elbag’s mother testified during a conference on June 14 in Israel.
• Naama Levy, volunteer in an association promoting peace
Naama Levy, 20, also appeared in a video published by the Islamist movement on October 7, 2023. We see her taken forcibly from the trunk of a pick-up by a Hamas fighter who holds her by the hair . His bloodstained gray jogging pants had raised concerns about his state of health at the time of his capture. A second video released later showed the moment of his kidnapping, his face covered in blood.
“My days and nights are haunted by Naama’s absence. Her nightmares are my nightmares,” her mother said during a conference in July 2024.
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“All of Naama’s previous videos (…) were full of joy, laughter and optimism. She was dancing with her friends, laughing with her brothers and sisters, talking about peace within a peace-seeking delegation and played with refugee children in the kindergarten where she was a volunteer,” her mother continued. Naama Levy was a volunteer with an association promoting peace among young Israelis and Palestinians.
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“Naama is a calm and determined sportswoman, full of compassion and emotion. An optimistic girl who dreamed of making the world a better place,” her mother declared during a conference almost a year ago.
• Daniella Gilboa, the piano player
The last sign of life for Daniella Gilboa, 20, dates back to January 2024. In a Hamas propaganda video, the soldier reads a text which highlights Israeli policy towards hostages. “Where were you on October 7 when I was taken from my bed? Where are you now? Why leave me, who served in difficult conditions in the Gaza border region?” she asked.
“I don’t need food, money, clothes or anything else, just for you to bring us home alive,” the young woman continued.
On an Instagram account campaigning for her release, we see Daniella Gilboa playing the piano, singing, spending time with her partner or even taking selfies with her friends.
• Karina Arif, face bleeding in January 2024
Karina Arif appeared alongside Daniella Gilboa in the video broadcast in January 2024. She was lying there with blood on her face.
Her parents said they spoke with her a few moments before her kidnapping during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. “She was screaming, she said she loved us very much. She told us to continue living,” said his mother told The Times of Israel.
In December 2024, on Facebook, the October 7 Collective shared biographical elements about the young Israeli woman. “Karina loves solving complex puzzles of several thousand pieces, she is a talented flute player and speaks four languages fluently,” it says.
According to the IDF, 91 people kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023 are still in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the Israeli army.
