Hamas has announced the names of four hostages to be released on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. The hostages, all Israeli soldiers, are Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag. They will be freed in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

This will be the second hostage exchange since the ceasefire came into effect last Sunday. The first exchange saw three hostages and 90 prisoners released. The ceasefire halted the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of over 1,200 people and the capture of 251 hostages.

Hamas is expected to provide information about the remaining 26 hostages due to be released over the next five weeks. The prisoners to be released in the current exchange are of a more serious category than those freed in the first exchange, including those who have killed and are serving sentences of over 15 years.

Israel has insisted that no one involved in the October 7 attacks will be freed. The four hostages to be released were seized at the Nahal Oz military base, which was overrun by Hamas gunmen.