Hamas has named four hostages to be released on Saturday under the Gaza ceasefire deal.

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It says they are soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag.

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

It will be the second such exchange since the ceasefire came into effect last Sunday.

Three hostages and 90 prisoners were released in the first swap.

The ceasefire halted the war which began when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.

About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages.

More than 47,200 Palestinians, the majority civilians, have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says.

It was originally thought that a female Israeli civilian, Arbel Yehud, would be included in the list of those to be released on Saturday.

It is unclear why her name is not on the list, though Israeli media reported that Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a separate group, is holding her.

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

This includes the Bibas family – two parents and two children, one of whom, Kfir, was 10 months old when taken captive and is the youngest hostage.

It is unclear if this information will include the names or just the number of living or dead hostages.

The prisoners who will be released are of a more serious category than those freed in the first exchange. They will include those who have killed, some of whom are serving sentences of more than 15 years.

Israel has insisted that no-one who was involved in the 7 October attacks will be freed. BBC