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Hamas hands over 3 Israeli hostages to Red Cross as part of Gaza ceasefire deal
The three Israeli hostages have been identified as Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen.
Palestinian militant group Hamas has handed over three more Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in the latest exchange under the Gaza ceasefire deal, reports Reuters.
The three Israeli men – Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen – were brought out by masked, armed Hamas fighters to pose on a stage before hundreds of Palestinians in the central town of Nuseirat.
The three hostages, dressed in fake army uniforms, were put in Red Cross vehicles that then headed for Israel, according to the Associated Press.
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Cohen, Shem Tov and Wenkert were abducted by Hamas fighters at the Nova music festival when militants stormed into southern Gaza on October 7, 2023 in the attack that triggered Israel to attack the militant group in Gaza.
Earlier in the day, two other hostages were freed in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. They have been identified as Tal Shoham (40) and Avera Mengistu (39).
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A sixth hostage, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was expected to be released in Gaza City.
Al-Sayed and Mengistu have been held by Hamas since they entered Gaza on their own around a decade ago. Shoham, however, was abducted 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 January 19, reported Reuters.
The release of the hostages on Saturday comes a day after Hamas returned the corpses of a child and the infant – Ariel Bibas (4 years old) and Kfir Bibas (10 months old).
