Dozens of masked and armed Hamas and fellow Islamic Jihad militants gathered at a square in Gaza City, where a podium was set up, as a crowd of Palestinians gathered round. A banner hanging off the stage read in Hebrew "Zionism will not prevail."
The four soldiers - Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag - 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 October 7, 2023.
Israeli Emily Damari was one of the first hostages to be released as part of the ceasefire deal. (EPA PHOTO)
The Hamas prisoners media office said it expected 200 prisoners to be freed on Saturday as part of the exchange, including 120 serving life sentences and 80 prisoners with other lengthy sentences.
A Palestinian official close to the talks told Reuters that some of the freed prisoners will be released into Egypt. Some of those will stay in Egypt while others may go on to Algeria, Qatar or Turkey.
Saturday's exchange would be the second since the ceasefire began on Sunday and Hamas handed over three Israeli civilians in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed that the list had been received from the mediators. Israel's response would be presented later, it said in a statement.
Israeli media reported that the list of hostages slated for release was not in line with the original agreement, but it was not immediately clear whether this would have any impact on the planned exchange.
In the six-week first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier released, officials have said.
Since the release of the first three women and the recovery of the body of an Israeli soldier missing for a decade, Israel says 94 Israelis and foreigners remain held in Gaza.
The ceasefire agreement, worked out after months of on-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States, halted the fighting for the first time since a truce that lasted just a week in November 2023.
Hamas fighters made their presence felt at the handing over of the hostages to the Red Cross. (AP PHOTO)
In the first phase, Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In a subsequent phase, the two sides would negotiate the exchange of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which lies largely in ruins after 15 months of fighting and Israeli bombardment.
Israel launched the war following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, when militants killed 1200 people and took more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to health authorities there.
The release of the first three hostages last week brought an emotional response from Israelis. But the phased release has drawn protests from some Israelis who fear the deal will break down after women, children, elderly and ill hostages are freed in the first phase, condemning male hostages of military age whose fate is not to be resolved until later.
Others, including some in the government, feel the deal hands a victory to Hamas, which has reasserted its presence in Gaza despite vows of Israeli leaders to destroy it. Hardliners, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have demanded that Israel resume fighting at the end of the first phase.
