Hamas Releases 3 Israeli Hostages to Red Cross Under Gaza Ceasefire Deal

Hamas Releases 3 Israeli Hostages: Hamas freed the first five of six Israeli hostages due to be released Saturday even as heightened tension between the adversaries clouded the future of the fragile ceasefire deal.

The five included three Israeli men seized while attending the Nova music festival and another abducted while visiting his family in southern Israel when militants stormed across the border in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that triggered Israel's nearly 16-month campaign in Gaza.

The first two captives, Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, were handed over to the Red Cross in Rafah in southern Gaza on Saturday after they were led onto a stage by armed Hamas fighters.

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An earlier exchange on Saturday saw two captives released at a separate location in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. They were Tal Shoham, 40, who was kidnapped from kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, and Avera Mengistu, 38, an Israeli from Ashkelon, who crossed into Gaza in 2014.

The five hostages later crossed into Israel after being handed over to the Israeli military by the Red Cross, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Watching the release, Cohen’s family and friends in Israel chanted “Eliya! Eliya! Eliya!” and cheered when they saw him for the first time. Shem Tov’s grandmother ululated in joy, shrieking, “Omer, my joy! My life!” as she saw him.

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The three were put in Red Cross vehicles that then headed for Israel. Earlier in the day, two other hostages were freed in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. A sixth hostage, 36-year-old Hisham al-Sayed, is also due to be released on Saturday (February 22, 2025).

On Friday night, the small militant group believed to have been holding Bibas and her sons — the Palestinian Mujahedeen Brigades — handed over a second body. Bibas’ family said Israeli forensic authorities had confirmed the remains were hers.

“For 16 months we sought certainty, and now that it’s here, it brings no comfort, though we hope it marks the beginning of closure,” the family said.

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