Hamas on Saturday released six Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, signaling readiness for the next phase of a shaky ceasefire.
Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham were handed to the Red Cross and eventually to Israel in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. Both were taken on an Israeli Air Force helicopter to the hospital to be reunited with their families and to undergo medical treatment, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Three others — Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert and Eliya Cohen — were released in central Gaza, first handed to the Red Cross and then over to Israel. They were accompanied by IDF special forces and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA). Israel’s military said Saturday that they will also undergo medical testing upon their return.
“The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the returning hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel,” the IDF said.
The sixth hostage, who was freed later Saturday, was not immediately identified. It is expected to be Hisham al-Sayed, 36, a Bedouin Israeli with a history of mental health illness, crossed on his own into Gaza in 2015 and had been held since, according to The Associated Press.
Earlier this week, Hamas was expected to deliver the remains of Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother who was taken hostage with her husband and two children during the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
Israel said Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., delivered the wrong body. The move angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned that repercussions were coming for Hamas if the situation wasn’t rectified.
Israel confirmed on Friday that Hamas has since released Bibas’s body.
Hamas said Israel will release over 600 Palestinian prisoners in exchange. It would be the largest freeing of inmates since the fragile ceasefire between the two sides began on Jan. 19.
The first phase of the three-phase ceasefire is set to last six weeks. The two sides have not forged an agreement for the second phase as of yet. The next steps are expected to include the release of the remaining hostages and the Israeli military withdrawing fully from the Gaza Strip.
The tenuous ceasefire came after the two sides fought for over 15 months. Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on the south of Israel killed around 1,200 Israelis and around 250 people were taken hostage.
IDF responded by bombarding Gaza, a military operation that killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The tally does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
