SET FOR FREEDOM
Hamas reveals 4 female hostages to be released TOMORROW…but still no sign of youngest captives the Bibas brothers, 2 & 5
Images of the four set to be released have been shared
THE identities of four Israeli soldiers set to be freed by Hamas tomorrow have been released.
The young female IDF soldiers will be freed after 477 harrowing days in captivity - but there is still no sign of the two and five year old Bibas brothers.
7
7
Karina Ariev, 20, Daniela Gilboa, 20, Naama Levi, 20, and Liri Elbag, 19, have been chosen to be part of the second hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas.
Their identities were released by senior Hamas officials and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed he has received these names.
They will be freed in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel.
The four women were snatched from the Nahal Oz military base in southern Israel during the deadly October 7 attack.
READ MORE ON THE HOSTAGES
Horrifying footage at the time showed the four women among several who had their hands tied behind their backs, on the site overrun by Hamas captors.
The girls desperately begged for help as they were tormented by their kidnappers.
This list of names has reportedly violated the fragile ceasefire agreements between the two groups, according to The Times of Israel.
The rules of the agreement reportedly state female civilians should be released first, followed by female soldiers, then the elderly, and finally anyone who has been deemed extremely ill.
Most read in The Sun
Liri had been working as a surveillance soldier on the base for just three days before she was abducted.
Karina was also a surveillance soldier at the military site and was snatched in the early hours of October 7.
Bizarre moment Israeli hostages are given 'gift bags' by Hamas with 'certificate and photos' before they are freed
Daniela's leg was wounded during her shock kidnapping, and she has appeared in multiple released Hamas videos, while in captivity.
Naama had been in the early stages of her IDF work when she was taken and a video showed how traumatic her abduction was.
She was seen with a large bloodstain on the front of her grey joggers and multiple wounds on her body.
The exchange tomorrow follows the release of three hostages, which were taken and held in hell by Hamas, on Saturday 18 January.
One of the freed was Brit Emily Damari, who emotionally reunited with her mother after 471 agonising days apart.
Under the terms of the fragile ceasefire agreement, there will be two more sets of releases following tomorrow's.
7
7
7
7
A total of 33 hostages, including 12 women and children, 10 men over 50, and 11 younger men, will be freed in a phased operation that culminates in the return of 14 hostages after six weeks.
FAMILY HEARTBREAK
Despite this, there has still been no sign of the youngest captives snatched and held by Hamas.
The family of the Bibas brothers recently revealed they have no idea if the young boys are dead or alive, after no proof of life has been provided by Hamas.
Ariel Bibas, five, and his brother Kfir, two, and their parents - Yarden and Shiri - are on the list of hostages to be released in the first six-week phase of the ceasefire.
But relatives have received no information since the ceasefire began on Sunday - the day after Kfir’s second birthday.
Ofri Bibas-Levy, the aunt of the brothers, told NBC News: "Not knowing is so hard that sometimes I want to scream.
"Just tell me, even if it's the worst, I just want to know.
"Not knowing, I can't start any kind of healing, I can't start recovering - I'm stuck," she said, clutching a special recreation of the pink elephant toy that features in Kfir's most famous picture.
In November 2023, Hamas published a video of Yarden Bibas being told his wife and children had been killed.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Hamas said they were killed in an IDF air strike on Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
However, Hamas are known to have lied about deaths in the past as a form of psychological torture - so there the situation is still unclear.
7
List of hostages Hamas say they will release
These are the hostages who will be released in Phase 1 of the peace plan
Women and children:
- Romi Gonen, 23
- Emily Damari, 27
- Arbel Yehud, 29
- Doron Steinbrecher, 31
- Ariel Bibas, 5
- Kfir Bibas, 2
- Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33
- Liri Albag, 19
- Karina Ariev, 20
- Agam Berger, 21
- Danielle Gilboa, 20
- Naama Levy, 20
Rest of the men:
- Ohad Ben-Ami, 58
- Gadi Moshe Moses, 80
- Keith Siegel, 65
- Ofer Calderon, 54
- Eli Sharabi, 52
- Itzik Elgarat, 70
- Shlomo Mansour, 86
- Ohad Yahalomi, 50
- Youssef Hamis Ziyadne, 54
- Oded Lifshitz, 84
- Tsahi Idan, 50
Source:
Topics