Hamas transferred the final living hostages in its captivity back to Israel Saturday as part of the cease-fire agreement to halt the war in Gaza.
The terrorist group transferred two hostages, Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu in the southern Gazan city of Rafah and turned them over to Red Cross officials. Afterwards, Hamas released three hostages in central Gaza, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, and Omer Wenkert.
Lastly, Hamas handed over Hisham al-Sayed in Gaza City to Red Cross representatives. Hamas captured al-Sayed and Mengistu almost a decade ago, while the other four hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s mass civilian slaughter on October 7, 2023.
Five of the six hostages were delivered in propaganda ceremonies and subsequently reunited with their families. The Israeli military shared clips of the emotional moments on social media as the freed hostages embraced loved ones after suffering untold amounts of turmoil.
“They return from the depths of hell to begin the process of healing and recovery alongside their loving families, who fought with all their strength for them,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement.
“The completion of a hostage deal is a humanitarian, moral, and Jewish imperative. As we have heard from the testimonies of hostages who have returned in recent weeks, they are in serious humanitarian need, and their immediate return is vital. We must do everything possible to bring back all the hostages from captivity in Gaza—until the very last one!”
The released hostages are the last group of living hostages Hamas agreed to transfer during phase one of its cease-fire deal with Israel to pause the fighting in Gaza. The U.S., Egypt, and Qatar brokered the cease-fire deal last month after Israel’s fought a multi-front regional war for over a year following the October 7 massacre. Israel will be turning over roughly 600 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages.
“SIXTH HOSTAGE HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED BY HAMAS!” President Donald Trump reacted on Truth Social.
Hamas terrorists captured Cohen, Shem Tov, and Wenkert during the October 7 massacre at the Nova Music Festival, where Hamas fighters slaughtered 364 people and captured about 44 partygoers.
Tal Shoham was abducted in Kibbutz Be’eri alongside several of his family members during Hamas’s October 7 rampage, and his father-in-law was killed. His wife, two young daughters, and mother-in-law were released in the November 2023 hostage transfer.
Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli, was kidnapped two weeks after crossing the border into Gaza alone in September 2014. Likewise, Al-Sayed was kidnapped months later upon crossing into Gaza in February 2015. Mengistu and Al-Sayed are believed to have struggled with mental health issues.
The hostage transfer took place following Hamas’s decision to hand over to Israel the corpse of a Gazan woman Thursday instead of Shiri Bibas, an Israeli hostage whose body was supposed to be returned along with her two young sons. Shiri Bibas and her sons were kidnapped on October 7, with 9-month old Kfir being the youngest Israeli hostage abducted in the midst of Hamas’s brutality. The Bibas family confirmed Friday that Hamas returned her body after transferring the wrong body initially.