Hamas has named 4 female Israeli soldiers it says will be freed as part of the second hostage-prisoner swap, as the Gaza ceasefire endures.

Israel says it has killed thousands of the armed group’s members and destroyed much of its infrastructure, but since the cease-fire started Hamas has shown it still holds power in the enclave.

The youngest hostage still in captivity in Gaza, Kfir was just shy of 9 months old when he was kidnapped during the Hamas-led terror ist attack Oct.7, 2023. On Saturday, he turned 2, having never known a birthday outside captivity.

Israel and Hamas have initiated the first of several hostage and prisoner exchanges that will take place as part of a ceasefire deal.

“Hopefully in the next week we will start to see a few hostages coming back home.” Danon said he was optimistic the deal would be finalized despite attempts by Hamas to gain more concessions.

For the Islamist militant group, armed struggle now looks like a dead end. Its future in Gaza depends on the civilian politburo.

As the ceasefire-for-hostages agreement went into effect over the weekend, Hamas terrorists no longer disguised themselves as civilians and rode through the streets of Gaza in fully fueled vehicles.

Hamas gunmen are guarding aid convoys in Gaza, and its police patrol city streets, sending a clear message: Hamas remains in charge.

Under the deal, approved by Israel’s government, 33 Israeli hostages will be exchanged for more than 730 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Watch our documentaries on the evolution and impact of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the overarching Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the sprawling ramifications, and how the most recent chapter in this long and volatile history has played out.

For all the military might Israel deployed in Gaza, it failed to remove Hamas from power, one of its central war aims. That could make a return to fighting more likely, but the results might be the same.