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Tragic fate: Gaza hostages finally confirmed dead!
On February 21, 2025, hostages, including Austro-Israeli citizen Tal Shoham, will be released as part of an exchange agreement.
Tragic fate: Gaza hostages finally confirmed dead!
In a heartbreaking chapter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the return of six hostages, including Austrian-Israeli citizen Tal Shoham, is expected. These hostages, part of a ceasefire deal, are scheduled to be handed over to Israel on Saturday. In addition to Shoham, who is 39 years old, the three young Israelis who were kidnapped from the Nova festival, Omer Wenkert (23), Omer Shem-Tov (22) and Eliya Cohen (27), are also expected to return. Two mentally ill men, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, who have been held in the Gaza Strip for over ten years, are also in this group. Al-Sayed and Mengistu are long-time hostages who entered the area in 2014 and 2015, like the Small newspaper reported.
At the same time, there were sad confirmations of the deaths of two small children, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were also kidnapped by Hamas. Her mother, Shiri Bibas-Silberman, and her two sons are now officially considered dead, the Hostage Families Forum in Israel confirmed on Wednesday. Hamas had previously declared their deaths in November 2023 and said it would hand over the bodies to Israel on Thursday. This tragic news about the little three-year-olds, who are among the youngest victims, further intensifies the already tense situation. Her father, Jarden Bibas, was released from Hamas captivity two weeks ago, according to the statement The press reported.
Negotiations and ceasefire
The exchange of a total of 33 hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners marks the first part of the deal agreed to date. The second phase of the ceasefire is scheduled to begin on March 2 and will include the handover of the remaining hostages. Talks on the modalities of this phase, originally scheduled for February 3, are now due to start this week, with Hamas saying it is ready to collectively release all remaining hostages. These diplomatic efforts are supported by the mediation of the USA, Egypt and Qatar, possibly also starting the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.