TEL AVIV, Israel — Despite escalating tensions that threaten the stability of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the initial group of five out of six Israeli hostages slated for release on Saturday.
Among those freed were three Israeli men who had been captured at the Nova music festival, along with another man taken from his family’s home in southern Israel during the October 7, 2023 attacks that initiated Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza, now in its 16th month.
The fifth released individual, and the sixth awaiting release later on Saturday, have been held by Hamas for approximately a decade, each having entered Gaza independently.
The hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza in two separate events, where they were presented on stages by masked and armed Hamas members before crowds of Palestinians. In Nuseirat, Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen were displayed alongside militants. Shem Tov was seen kissing the militant beside him and waving to the crowd. They were then transported to Israeli troops in Red Cross vehicles.
As they watched the release, Cohen’s family and friends in Israel chanted his name and cheered at their first glimpse of him. Shem Tov’s grandmother expressed her joy, shouting his name as she saw him.
These releases, preceding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners by Israel, are proceeding despite increased tensions stemming from a dispute earlier in the week. Hamas initially provided the incorrect body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother of two young children who had been abducted.
The remains handed over by Hamas along with her sons on Thursday were later identified as those of an unidentified Palestinian woman. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned this as a “cruel and malicious violation” and promised retribution, while Hamas attributed it to a mistake.
On Friday night, the Palestinian Mujahedeen Brigades, the group believed to have held Bibas and her sons, handed over a second body. Bibas’ family reported that Israeli forensic authorities confirmed the remains were hers.
“For 16 months we sought certainty, and now that it’s here, it brings no comfort, though we hope it marks the beginning of closure,” the family stated.
Difficult negotiations likely over the ceasefire’s next phase
While the ceasefire has temporarily halted the conflict, its initial phase is drawing to a close. Negotiations concerning the subsequent phase, which involves Hamas releasing more hostages in exchange for a sustained ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, are expected to be even more challenging.
The six hostages being released on Saturday are the last remaining living individuals scheduled for release under the initial phase.
Cohen, Shem Tov, and Wenkert, all in their 20s, were abducted by Hamas fighters at the Nova music festival. During their release, they were presented wearing fake army uniforms, despite not being soldiers at the time of their abduction.
Earlier on Saturday, two additional hostages, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, were released in Rafah, southern Gaza. Upon their return to Israel, they were taken to medical facilities for assessment.
“This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together. Our Tal is with us,” Shoham’s family announced in a statement, urging for an agreement to secure the release of all remaining captives. “There is a window of opportunity; we must not miss it.”
Shoham, also an Austrian citizen, was visiting his wife’s family in Kibbutz Be’eri when Hamas militants attacked on Oct. 7, 2023. Shoham’s wife, two young children, and three other relatives who were abducted with him were freed in a November 2023 exchange.
Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli, had been held in Gaza since entering on his own in 2014. As they watched the handover on Israeli media, Mengistu’s family began singing a Hebrew song, “Here is the Light,” upon seeing him for the first time in over a decade.
The sixth hostage scheduled for release later, 36-year-old Hisham al-Sayed, crossed into Gaza in 2015 and has been held captive since.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners set for release
In exchange, over 600 Palestinians incarcerated in Israel are slated for release, according to the Palestinian prisoners media office on Friday. This group includes 50 individuals serving life sentences, 60 with lengthy sentences, 47 previously released in a prior exchange, and 445 Palestinians captured by Israeli troops in Gaza since the start of the war.
Hamas has also stated its intention to release four more bodies next week, thus concluding the initial phase of the ceasefire. Should this plan proceed, Hamas would retain approximately 60 hostages, about half of whom are believed to be alive.
Hamas insists that it will not release the remaining captives without a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. Netanyahu, supported by the Trump administration, maintains that he is committed to dismantling Hamas’ military and governing structures and securing the return of all hostages—objectives that are widely considered to be mutually exclusive.
Israel’s military campaign has resulted in the deaths of over 48,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, as reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel claims to have killed over 17,000 fighters, though it has not provided evidence to support this claim.
The offensive has devastated large portions of Gaza, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At the height of the conflict, 90% of Gaza’s population was displaced. Many have returned to find their homes destroyed and face no means of rebuilding.
—Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Jahjouh from Rafah. AP correspondents Abdel-Kareem Hana in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
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