The six hostages — Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Elia Cohen, Omer Venkert, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed — will be delivered by the Red Cross to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip. From there, the military will escort them to an army facility near Re'im for an initial examination and meeting with family members, after which they will be airlifted to the 'Sourasky' and 'Rabin' hospitals in central Israel.
Al-Sayed and Mengistu have been in captivity in Gaza for more than ten years after entering the sector voluntarily. The others were abducted on October 7, 2023.
Al-Jazeera reports that Shoham and Mengistu will be released in Rafah, while the other four — in Nuseirat.
The terrorist group once again set up scenes with propaganda posters, issued the hostages certificates of release, and forced them to speak in front of gathered militants.
Meanwhile, in Nuseirat, only three hostages were handed over from the stage, with Hisham al-Sayed being handed over separately. As Hamas stated, he will be released in Gaza City without a ceremony — out of 'respect for his family and the Arabs of Israel,' since he belongs to a 'Palestinian family,' without specifying why he was held captive for about ten years.
Tal Shoham, a 39-year-old Israeli with Austrian and Italian citizenship, was abducted from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 along with eight other family members. Shoham came to Be'eri for the Simchat Torah holiday with his wife and children on October 7 because his wife grew up there. Shoham's wife and children were also taken captive by Hamas and held together but separately from Tal. His wife Adi and children, Nave and Yahel, now aged 9 and 4, were released as a result of the first hostage release deal on November 25, 2023.
Elia Cohen was 26 years old when Hamas terrorists abducted him from the SuperNova music festival on October 7, 2023, where he was with his girlfriend. Hearing the sirens, the couple ran to a shelter, which was later renamed the 'shelter of death' as Hamas killed most of its inhabitants. Elia was abducted, while his girlfriend Ziv survived by hiding under the dead bodies of partygoers, where she lay for six hours.
Omer Shem-Tov, who was 20 years old at the time of the attack, was also abducted from the SuperNova music festival. The terrorists drove his car into Gaza. His family could track his location by phone when he called them and reported everything happening around him.
Omer Venkert was 22 years old when Hamas abducted him from the music festival on October 7, 2023. He suffers from an autoimmune disease that causes ulcers in the digestive tract, and his family reported concerns about his health condition.
In the moments leading up to his capture, Omer wrote to his parents that he was 'scared to death.' His family learned of the abduction a few hours later when Hamas posted a video showing young Omer tied to a pickup truck in his underwear. Later, images were circulated showing Omer lying on the ground in Gaza.
Avera Mengistu, an Israeli of Ethiopian descent, spent 11 years in Hamas captivity. He suffered from a mental disorder after his older brother Michael died of anorexia at the age of 29, his mental state deteriorated, and he began making long marches alone across Israel. On September 7, 2014, Avera crossed the Gaza Strip border. According to Human Rights Watch, he is now 38 years old. Hamas claims he is a soldier, but this claim is disputed by both Human Rights Watch and his family.
Hisham al-Sayed was 27 years old when he wandered into southern Gaza and was abducted by Hamas; he had previously been diagnosed with 'schizophrenia' and 'personality disorder.' Now, at the age of 36, the Bedouin-Israeli can return to his hometown of Al-Hura as part of the first stage of the hostage and ceasefire agreement between Israel and his terrorist captors. Sayed crossed the Gaza border on April 20, 2015.
For the six living hostages, Israel will release 602 Palestinian prisoners from prisons, 50 of whom are sentenced to at least one life imprisonment. 47 were released under the Shalit deal but were then re-arrested for returning to terror. 60 prisoners were sentenced to long terms for terror, 445 are residents of Gaza detained after October 7.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that militants handed over a coffin with the remains of Shiri Bibas to Red Cross staff on the evening of February 21, who then handed it over to Israel. A police convoy delivered Bibas's body to the Forensic Medicine Institute in Tel Aviv.
Kibbutz Nir Oz officially announced that Shiri Bibas was killed while in terrorist captivity. 'After the identification procedure at the Forensic Medicine Institute this morning, we received the news we feared the most. Our Shiri was killed in captivity. <...> Shiri was a wonderful mother to Ariel and Kfir, a loving partner to Yarden, a devoted sister and aunt, and an incredible friend,' the Bibas family statement said.