The names of four hostages released by Hamas under Saturday’s ceasefire in Gaza are expected to be handed over to Israel.

It is thought they will be soldiers and civilians, both female.

They will be released in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

This will be the second exchange since the ceasefire came into effect last Sunday. The first swap freed three hostages and 90 prisoners.

The ceasefire halted the war, which began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. Some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage to the Gazans.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said more than 47,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, had been killed in the Israeli offensive.

Hamas is also expected to provide information on the remaining 26 hostages to be released over the next five weeks.

This includes the Bibas family – two parents and two children, one of whom, KFIR, was the youngest hostage at 10 months old when captured. It was unclear whether this information included names or the number of dead hostages.

The prisoners who will be released are more serious than the prisoners who were released in the first exchange. They will include those killed, some of whom served more than 15 years.

Israel insists that no one involved in the October 7 attack will be released.

The ceasefire agreement comes after months of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

It will be implemented in three phases, with the second phase taking place six weeks into the truce. In the first phase, some 1,900 Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for 33 hostages. Israeli forces will also begin withdrawing from positions in Gaza, and thousands of displaced Palestinians will be able to return to areas they fled or were forced to leave.

The ceasefire is intended to lead to a permanent end to the war in Gaza.

The ninety-one hostages taken on October 7, 2023 are still being held in Gaza. Fifty-seven of them were still alive in Israel. Three others are still alive – for a decade or more.