Hamas frees six captives in Gaza
Hamas frees six captives in Gaza
Six Israeli captives have been released in Gaza’s Nuseirat, Rafah and Gaza City, in exchange for 602 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
The family of deceased Israeli captive Shiri Bibas confirmed that her remains have been identified after a body returned from Gaza on Thursday was discovered to belong to another person, Al Jazeera reported.
The final captive was released on Saturday in Gaza City without ceremony.
Hisham al-Sayed was last seen in a video recording broadcast by Qassam Brigades on June 28, 2022, during which the armed wing of Hamas announced “a deterioration in the health of one of the enemy’s prisoners” before publishing for the first time scenes documenting his health condition.
The Israeli captive’s family hails from the little-known village of al-Sayed in Negev, where he grew up in a Bedouin community that has been marginalized for decades by Israeli policies.
He was captured on April 20, 2015, after infiltrating the Gaza Strip through a breach in the security fence.
His family has claimed in media statements that he suffers from mental illness and that his health condition was deteriorating before he was captured. They have denied that he was associated with any Israeli military service.
Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Omer Wenkert, 23, all seized from the site of the Nova music festival in the Oct.7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, were handed over to the Red Cross and transported to Israeli forces, Gulf Today reported.
Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39, were released in southern Rafah earlier.
Shoham was taken into Gaza from Kibbutz Be'eri along with his wife and two children, who were freed in a brief truce in November 2023. The six are the last living hostages from a group of 33 due to be freed in the first stage of the ceasefire deal that took effect on Jan.19.
Around 60 more captives, less than half of whom are believed to be alive, remain in Gaza.
Hundreds of Israelis gathered in the rain in what has become known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Some lit candles under photos of the Bibas family, whose bodies were returned this week, and others cheered as they watched the release on screen. Among those watching the release broadcast on a large screen was Yael Alexander.
Her son, a soldier and a dual US-Israeli national, was captured from a military base near Gaza in the October attack.
In return for the captives, Israel was to release 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in its jails in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal that has largely held.
They included 445 Gazans rounded up by Israeli forces during the war, as well as dozens of convicts serving lengthy or life terms, according to Hamas.
source: tehrantimes.com