Four Israeli soldiers held captive for 477 days by Hamas were released Saturday under the second exchange in the ongoing Gaza cease-fire deal.

The IDF soldiers — Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy — were stationed at the Nahal Oz military base on the Gaza border when the terror group seized the post during its brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 60 troops.

The four were kidnapped along with a fifth soldier, Agam Berger, 20, who is still held captive in Gaza by Hamas.

Harrowing footage of their capture circulated widely, featuring Hamas soldiers’ bragging and suggesting they would rape the hostages.

In exchange for the soldiers’ release Saturday, Israel freed over 200 Palestinian prisoners, including roughly 120 who were serving life sentences.

Here is more about the newly freed hostages:

Liri Albag, 19, who had just started her two-year mandatory military service as a surveillance soldier at Nahal Oz before she was kidnapped by Hamas, had aspirations to become an interior designer and architect, according to the hostage advocacy organization Bring Them Home Now. 

Albag’s cousin Aya Albag, an IDF corporal, had told Liri she was “proud” of her for passing her observation course before she was sent off to the base near the Gaza border, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Albag was featured in a Hamas propaganda video released earlier this month, where she said she was “living in a nightmare” and pleaded for the Israeli government to rescue her.

Following her release Saturday, she made a heart sign through the window of the helicopter bringing Albag and her fellow ex-hostages to the Rabin Medical Center to be treated.

Ariev, 20, who is from Jerusalem, is fluent in four languages and a skilled flute player, her family has said. 

Her interests are wide-ranging, including singing, dancing and writing poetry, and she spent time volunteering at a kindergarten, according to the Jerusalem Post. 

Ariev, who dreamed of becoming a psychologist, was known for being sensitive and taking “care of everyone,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement, according to CNN.

Gilboa, 20, who is from Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, studied music in high school and played the piano, setting her sights on a career as a musician.

After she was kidnapped, her family followed a rabbi’s advice and changed her name from Danielle to Daniella, which was believed to ensure God’s protection.

The now-former hostage’s boyfriend of eight years reportedly asked Gilboa’s parents for permission to marry her while awaiting her release, her longtime beau’s father previously recalled to Hebrew media.

Gilboa was featured in a Hamas propaganda video created by the terror group in January 2024 along with Ariev and Doron Steinbrecher, who was among the trio of hostages freed in the first exchange under the current cease-fire deal. 

Family and friends characterized Levy, 20, as being gentle and quiet, but also filled with strength and determination. 

The Ra’anna resident was a hardworking athlete who competed in triathlons and played tennis, in addition to volunteering with the Red Cross, prior to her abduction, according to the Jerusalem Post. 

Levy who wanted to work in diplomacy, served as a delegate in the Hands of Peace project, which aimed to connect Israeli, Palestinian and American youth to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, her mother, Ayelet Levy Sachar, has said. 

In a video recording of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on the Nahal Oz army base, a blood-covered Levy pleads to her captors in English, “I have friends in Palestine.”

With Post wires