Before their release, the hostages, four female soldiers, were led onto a stage in Gaza City, surrounded by masked, uniformed fighters.

The four soldiers were all stationed at an observation post on the edge of Gaza and abducted by Hamas fighters who overran their base during the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hamas said that it intends to release Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag on Saturday. All four of the women were serving as Israel Defense Forces soldiers at the time of their kidnapping.