The two hostages, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, were the first to be presented on a stage in Gaza by masked Hamas men on Saturday morning.
Avera Mengistu was born in Ethiopia but emigrated to Israel as a child with his family. He has been held captive by Hamas since 2014, when he crossed the border into Gaza on his own. His family burst into joyful singing when they saw him again after all these years.
Tal Shoham, who is also an Austrian citizen, was visiting his wife in the kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel when the kibbutz was stormed by Hamas during the October attacks in 2023. Shoham's wife and two small children were released in an early exchange later that year.
Held for ten years
A few hours later, the same procedure took place on a stage a little further north in Nuseirat, where three more people were handed over to the intermediary, the Red Cross.
The three, all in their 20s, were Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen. They were taken away by Hamas during the massacre that occurred at a music festival during the extremist group's attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Omer Shem Tov gave flying kisses to the crowd, and Eliya Cohen's family chanted "Eliya, Eliya, Eliya" before the two were led into the Red Cross vehicle for further transport to Israel.
Shortly afterwards, the sixth and final hostage was released in today's prisoner exchange. His identity was not immediately clear, but the man is believed to be Hisham Al-Sayed, an Israeli Bedouin who crossed the border into Gaza in 2015 and has been held captive since then.
Provided wrong remains
The six hostages are the last living prisoners to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed yesterday to avenge a "grave violation" by Hamas. On Friday, Hamas handed over the remains of several dead hostages, but in one case, the remains belonged to the wrong person. On Saturday morning, the relatives of the deceased woman Shiri Bibas announced that her remains had finally been handed over and identified as the correct ones.
Among the over 600 Palestinian prisoners to be released are more than 100 who have been sentenced to long prison terms in Israel and more than 400 who have been detained during the ongoing war.
Four next week
In a final step in the first phase of the ceasefire, the Palestinian extremist group Hamas will hand over the remains of four hostages next week. At that point, the movement will have around 60 hostages left, with about half of them believed to be alive.
In negotiations on phase two, Hamas is demanding an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza to achieve a "sustainable" calm as intended. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is sticking to his demand that Hamas be eliminated, and his more extreme government colleagues want the war to be resumed.
Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas agreed on a ceasefire that began on January 19 and is scheduled to last for six weeks in the first phase.
During the six weeks, Hamas will release a total of 33 people who have been held as hostages in Gaza, most of them since the Palestinian extremists' attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel will release a total of around 1,900 people. This includes those who have been sentenced to prison terms in Israel and those who have been detained during the war. The exact number to be released each time is unclear, but it will happen simultaneously with Hamas releasing hostages.
When phase one is over, around 60 Israelis will still be held as hostages by Hamas. The idea is that they will be released in a second phase of the ceasefire, which is intended to pave the way for an Israeli withdrawal and a more long-term and "sustainable" calm in the Gaza Strip. However, the circumstances for this have not yet been negotiated.
