Hamas released six Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of the ongoing ceasefire agreement according to Israeli authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Early in the day, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39, were released in the southern city of Rafah.
Later Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Omer Wenkert, 23—were handed over in the central Gaza town of Nuseirat. The men, who were kidnapped from the Nova music festival during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, were brought to a stage by masked and armed militants before being transferred to the Red Cross, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The Israeli military confirmed it had taken custody of the three men from Nuseirat and that they were being transported for medical evaluation. Crowds gathered in Israel’s Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to watch the releases on screens, with some cheering and others lighting candles for those still in captivity.
A sixth hostage, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was later released separately from Gaza City.
In exchange Israel is expected to released 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails, 445 of whom are Palestinians taken from Gaza by Israeli troops over the course of the war.
The exchange is part of a ceasefire deal that began on January 19, and is set to unfold in stages.
The latest exchange follows a dispute between Israel and Hamas over the return of hostages’ bodies. On Thursday, Hamas handed over a body that they stated was Shiri Bibas, a mother who was kidnapped with her two young sons, 4-year-old Ariel and 10-month-old Kfir. However, on Friday, the Israeli military said that forensic analysis revealed the body did not belong to Bibas and did not match any other known hostage.
Hamas later returned her actual remains, as confirmed by her family.
Hamas states that Bibas and her children were killed in an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military states the children were killed deliberately by their captors.
The ceasefire, while holding for now, remains fragile. Mediators are working toward a second phase of negotiations aimed at securing the release of remaining hostages, some of whom are believed to be deceased, in exchange for further Israeli concessions.
