Hamas will release four more hostages on Saturday

The Palestinian Hamas movement will release four more hostages on Saturday. This was announced in a January 24 statement by the movement's military wing.

The hostages will be released as part of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

"The Al-Qassam Brigades decided to release the following female soldiers on Saturday, January 25: Karina Ariov, Danielle Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Elbagh," the statement said.

KAN Radio also reported that the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received a list of women to be released from Israeli prisons.

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The ceasefire agreement in Gaza became known on January 15. The next day, the Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began preparations to implement the agreement.

Theceasefire in the Gaza Strip was to begin on the morning of January 19, as agreed upon by both sides and mediators. The Israeli government approved the agreement with the Palestinian Hamas movement on January 17 following a six-hour meeting. At the same time, Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a massive rocket attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.