Jerusalem/Cairo/Gaza | The Palestinian militant movement Hamas released four female Israeli soldier hostages on Saturday, in return for some 200 Palestinian prisoners, in keeping with a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the 15-month-old war in Gaza.
The four were led onto a podium in Gaza City amid a large crowd of Palestinians and surrounded by dozens of armed Hamas men. They waved and smiled before being led off, entering ICRC vehicles and being transported to Israeli forces.
