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Hamas has released the names of four female soldiers expected to be freed on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel.

Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and 19-year-old Liri Albag, who were all serving with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), are set to return from the war-ravaged coastal territory to Israel in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The four Israeli troops were taken captive from the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 when Hamas carried out its cross-border attack.

The hostages are expected to be freed as part of an exchange that will see 200 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails – 50 for each IDF soldier released by Hamas as per the ceasefire agreement.

It is understood that 120 of the Palestinian prisoners are serving life sentences.

Karina Ariev, 20, taken from Nahal-Oz. Pic: Bring Them Home Now
Image:
Karina Ariev. Pic: Bring Them Home Now

Daniella Gilboa, 20, taken from Nahal-Oz. Pic: Bring Them Home Now
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Daniella Gilboa. Pic: Bring Them Home Now


All four Israeli captives are alive, Sky’s US partner network NBC News reported, citing a senior Hamas official.

The latest developments follow the release of three Israeli hostages, including dual British citizen Emily Damari, last Sunday and comes as the ceasefire approaches its second week.

Israel has yet to confirm the latest names. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “A list of kidnapped women has been received by the mediators. Israel’s response will be provided later.”

Israel had reportedly demanded that Arbel Yehoud, an Israeli civilian, be on the list of four to be released on Saturday. However, she has not been named by Hamas.

It is thought she might be held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group in the Gaza Strip.

Under the terms of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hames, 33 hostages are to be freed over the course of six weeks in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.

Liri Albag, 19, taken from Nahal-Oz. Pic: Bring Them Home Now
Image:
Liri Albag. Pic: Bring Them Home Now

Naama Levy, 20, taken from Nahal-Oz. Pic: Bring Them Home Now
Image:
Naama Levy. Pic: Bring Them Home Now

The Gaza-based Prisoners’ Media Office said in a statement: “After the Palestinian resistance factions announced the names of the occupation prisoners who are to be released tomorrow, which included the names of four female soldiers; we are waiting for the list of Palestinian prisoners who are to be released tomorrow, which will include 120 prisoners with life sentences, and 80 prisoners with high sentences, according to what was stipulated in the ceasefire agreement in the deal.”

If the process runs smoothly, the four Israeli hostages should be released late on Saturday afternoon. They will first be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross and then driven to one of three border crossings to be transferred to the IDF.

From there, and after initial medical checks, they will be flown to hospital.

The Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released from Ofer Prison in the West Bank late on Saturday or in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Read more:
What does the Gaza ceasefire agreement say?
Hamas attack survivor to represent Israel at Eurovision

Released hostages ‘adjusting to freedom’

The first three hostages to be released last Sunday, Romi Gonen, Doren Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, are all still recovering in a hospital just outside Tel Aviv.

Michal Mayo, Doron’s cousin, told Sky News her condition is still fragile, but she is doing well.

“Those three young women were held mostly underground tunnels under terrible circumstances, and you know, you can only imagine after 471 days there that both mentally and physically they would then need a lot of time to recover and heal,” said Michal.

“She’s adjusting to freedom.”

Romi Gonen’s best friend, Gaya Khalifa, was shot and killed next to her on October 7 at the Nova music festival.

Gaya’s mother Sigal has visited Romi in hospital and said it brought back memories of her daughter.

“I knew from the beginning that Gaya was not going to come back but when I saw Romi it reminded me what happened on October 7 and it made me the same feeling: Why? Why has it happened to us?

“But in the same moment you feel that Romi is the last memory from Gaya and she knows everything and when I hug her, I feel like I hug Gaya.”

Saturday is also expected to see the start of an IDF withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor that bisects Gaza.

Once complete, Gazans will be able to return home to the north of the strip, although they will be subject to checks for weapons before being allowed to pass.

It has been reported that an independent security company, possibly American, could be tasked with carrying out those checks.

Among the roughly 250 people abducted in Israel on 7 October 2023, some have died in captivity in Gaza, while others have been released or rescued.

Including the four hostages expected to be released on Saturday, 91 of those taken captive on 7 October 2023 are still yet to return home.

The ceasefire, brokered with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the US, has brought a pause to 15 months of brutal fighting in Gaza that has razed much of the enclave to the ground.

More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Hamas-run authorities in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

A number of people have been killed and multiple others injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, police have said.

The driver has been taken into custody after the incident shortly after 8pm local time on Saturday, police added.

People were in the area near 41st Avenue and Fraser Street for the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party, named after a national hero of the Philippines.

Vancouver’s mayor Ken Sim said in a post on X: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.”

He added: “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground.

A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in photos from the scene.

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially 'historic' meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope's funeral

Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.

The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.

The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
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The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”

The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.

Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.

Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.

Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
Image:
The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Trump and Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
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Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica

But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.

The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.

The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.

There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.

U.S President Donald Trump attends the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.

He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.

“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.

In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.

They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.

Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.

In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
Image:
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.

We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.

But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.

Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.

Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
Image:
The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.

They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.

The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.

Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.

If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.

This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.

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