PETAH TIKVA, Israel, Jan 25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Four Israeli women soldiers freed from captivity in Gaza reached Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, central Israel, on Saturday accompanied by their parents aboard a military helicopter, AFP journalists reported.

The Israeli health ministry later confirmed that they had arrived at the Rabin Medical Centre. It said staff there were ready to "provide comprehensive medical care, including psychological support" for the women who had spent 477 days in captivity in Gaza.

The Israeli military said earlier in a statement that "Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev, together with their parents, just boarded an Israeli Air Force helicopter to make their way to the hospital, where they will be reunited with the rest of their families and receive medical treatment".

The four young women were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City on Saturday morning, before being passed to the Israeli military who transported them out of the Palestinian territory.

They were then reunited with their parents before boarding the helicopter.