Hamas releases two more hostages in ceasefire deal, more than 600 Palestinian prisoners freed

According to the ceasefire agreement, Israel agreed to release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Hamas releasing two Israeli captives on Saturday amid the ongoing fighting between Israel and Gaza.

Hostages identified

The released hostages were identified as Tal Shoham (40) and Avera Mengistu (39). In a video, both of them were seen weak and scared when masked gunmen presented them to the crowd. After this, they were handed over to the Red Cross and sent to the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces).

More hostages to be released

The release of four more hostages – Omer Wenkert (23), Omer Shem Tov (22), Hisham al-Sayed (36) and Elia Cohen (27) – was expected later on Saturday.

Old hostages also included

Two of the hostages – Mengistu and al-Sayed – are civilians who went to Gaza more than a decade ago on their own and were imprisoned there since then. Both of them were already in Hamas's custody before the 7 October 2023 attack.

Controversy over Shiri Bibas' death

The release coincides with the recent revelation that Hamas had failed to deliver on its prior pledge to handover hostage Shiri Bibas' body to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of sending the body of a Palestinian woman in place of the body of an Israeli hostage. However, Shiri Bibas' sons - Ariel and Kfir Bibas - were released on Thursday along with Oded Lifshitz.

Statements over bodies

Hamas said late Friday that it had handed over Shiri Bibas' body to the Red Cross, which handed over the human remains to Israeli authorities. Bibas' family confirmed his identity on Saturday morning.

Hamas says it made no attempt to stop any of the bodies. It claims that the dead hostages handed over on Thursday died in an Israeli airstrike in November 2023 and that the bodies could be difficult to identify properly due to heavy bombing.

The Israeli army alleges that Hamas killed Ariel and Kfir Bibas "unarmed with their own hands" and committed "horrific acts" to hide these murders. However, the Israeli army has not presented any concrete evidence of this claim.

This development is extremely important in this delicate phase of ceasefire and reactions of both sides will be monitored in the coming days.