GAZA: Hamas frees two Israeli hostages in latest transfer under truce

Palestinian militants on Saturday freed two Israeli hostages, among the last live captives eligible for release under the first phase of a fragile truce that is also expected to see Palestinian prisoners released.

Freedom for the captives caps an emotional two days in Israel, where the family of another hostage, Shiri Bibas, earlier on Saturday confirmed receipt of her remains.

Bibas and her two young sons had become symbols of the ordeal suffered by Israeli hostages since the Gaza war began.

Palestinian militants seized dozens of captives during their unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which triggered more than 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip.

Militants escorted Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu onto a stage in Rafah, southern Gaza. Shoham was made to address the gathering, flanked by armed and masked fighters dressed all in black, before both men were handed over to the Red Cross which then drove them away in a convoy.

Israeli security forces took custody of the men and returned them home to Israeli territory, the military said.

In the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, hundreds gathered at a site known as ‘Hostages Square’ reacted with applause, some appearing to weep, as they watched a broadcast of the release.

Four other hostages are to be freed on Saturday morning in a separate ceremony in central Gaza.

Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum had published the names of the six Israelis to be freed. The list included Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert and Hisham al-Sayed as well as Mengistu and Shoham.

Sayed and Mengistu had been held in Gaza for around a decade.

The hostages were freed under the first phase of a ceasefire deal which began on January 19 and is due to expire in early March.

A Hamas source told AFP that the Islamist group planned to also release four hostages from central Gaza’s Nuseirat later in the morning.