On October 9, a ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and Hamas. In the deal, Hamas released 20 Israeli hostages and Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. In 2025, it was the first major cease-fire phase that saw Israeli hostages released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which Hamas members are seen riding in vehicles, while children are running after the vehicles and a woman is raising her hand in greeting.
Arabic text embedded in the video, when translated into English, reads, “A Palestinian woman greets resistance fighters as they prepare to hand over the second batch of Israeli prisoners. Osama al-Arbid.”
The video is shared with a caption claiming that it shows people of Palestine celebrating after the ceasefire. A social media user shared the video with a sarcastic caption that reads, “With the ceasefire, the Hamas brave men are coming out of the den and showing their faces.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video has been on the internet since at least January and was shot on the day when four Israeli female soldiers were handed over.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a Facebook user on January 26. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “A Palestinian woman salutes resistance fighters, who reciprocate during the handover of the four female soldiers in Gaza City yesterday. #Gaza #IsraeliCrimes #IsraeliTerrorism”Taking a hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found that the same video was also shared by another X account on January 26, with a caption that reads, “A Palestinian woman salutes the Palestinian resistance fighters during their patrol in the #Gaza sector.” (Translated from Arabic)
While we could not find any confirmed sources regarding the context of the video, we could confirm that the viral video was old.
In an NPR report, dated January 25, we found that Hamas released four Israeli women soldiers — Liri Albag (19), Karina Ariev (20), Daniella Gilboa (20) and Naama Levy (20) — handing them over to the Red Cross.
However, taking a hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found a report published by NPR on January 25. According to the report, during the brief ceasefire, Hamas released four Israeli women soldiers — Liri Albag (19), Karina Ariev (20), Daniella Gilboa (20) and Naama Levy (20) — handing them over to the Red Cross. These female Israeli soldiers have been held in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. In exchange, Israel freed 200 Palestinian prisoners, including those serving life sentences and held under administrative detention.
Under the current ceasefire agreement, Hamas freed the last 20 surviving hostages it held after two years of captivity in Gaza. In exchange, Israel released 1,968 mostly Palestinian prisoners held in its jails. Hamas is also due to return the bodies of 27 hostages who died or were killed in captivity, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict.
Taking a hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found that the same video was also shared by another X account on January 26, with a caption that reads, “A Palestinian woman salutes the Palestinian resistance fighters during their patrol in the #Gaza sector.” (Translated from Arabic)
While we could not find any confirmed sources regarding the context of the video, we could confirm that the viral video was old.
In an NPR report, dated January 25, we found that Hamas released four Israeli women soldiers — Liri Albag (19), Karina Ariev (20), Daniella Gilboa (20) and Naama Levy (20) — handing them over to the Red Cross.
However, taking a hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found a report published by NPR on January 25. According to the report, during the brief ceasefire, Hamas released four Israeli women soldiers — Liri Albag (19), Karina Ariev (20), Daniella Gilboa (20) and Naama Levy (20) — handing them over to the Red Cross. These female Israeli soldiers have been held in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. In exchange, Israel freed 200 Palestinian prisoners, including those serving life sentences and held under administrative detention.
Under the current ceasefire agreement, Hamas freed the last 20 surviving hostages it held after two years of captivity in Gaza. In exchange, Israel released 1,968 mostly Palestinian prisoners held in its jails. Hamas is also due to return the bodies of 27 hostages who died or were killed in captivity, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict.
Timeline of hostage releases by Hamas since 7 October 2023
On 7 October 2023, militants from Hamas abducted approximately 251 people in attacks on southern Israel. In late November 2023, under a truce deal, around 78 Israeli hostages were released in exchange for about 240 Palestinian prisoners. (Source not located for exact numbers.) In early 2025, during a cease-fire phase, approximately 25 Israeli hostages and the remains of eight others were handed over in exchange for roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Then on 12-13 October 2025, Hamas released the final group of 20 surviving Israeli hostages in a deal with Israel, which came alongside a prisoner-release from the Israeli side.
