Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag were serving as observers in the Israel Defense Forces
Four Israeli women have returned home after 15 months in captivity as Israel and Hamas move forward with a fragile cease-fire deal.
Terrorist group Hamas released the four female soldiers on Jan. 25 in return for 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of the cease-fire arrangement.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag, all now aged between 19 and 20, were stationed at an observation post on the edge of Gaza when thousands of Palestinians led by Hamas fighters burst through the border and began a rampage that killed roughly 1,200 people.
“We are overjoyed and moved to see Naama standing strong and returning to us,” Levy’s family said in a statement after they were reunited.
The four were serving as observers, non-combat service members tasked with surveilling suspicious activity at the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, when their post was overrun and the rest of the soldiers there killed.
At least two of the women were freshly conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the attack. Oct. 7, 2023, was Albag’s second day in service.
“Liri demonstrated superhuman strength and survived hell, and we are so proud of her steadfast endurance under impossible conditions,” her family said in a statement.
After the initial attack, which killed most of the people stationed at the observation post, the women were abducted and taken back to Gaza by Hamas, just four of about 250 hostages taken that day.
Body camera footage recovered from deceased Hamas fighters that day revealed videos of the women, some in pajamas and covered in blood, being forced into the back of a jeep by masked men.
The four appeared to be in better health and spirits this weekend when they were released and finally reunited with their families. The group will next be taken to a hospital in central Israel, according to the Israeli Health Ministry. Another female soldier abducted with them is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
