Hamas hands over hostages: Austrian valley Shoham free after 504 days!

Hamas hands over hostages: Austrian valley Shoham free after 504 days!

In the Gaza Strip, the handover of six Israeli hostages to the Israeli authorities is expected on Saturday, February 22, 2025, which indicates the end of a captivity to the Austrian citizen Tal Shoham over 16 months. Shoham was captured on October 7, 2023 during an attack by Hamas and is one of the approximately 250 hostages that were kidnapped during this incident. Among the hostages that are supposed to come free on Saturday are also three young Israelis who had been kidnapped at the Nova Festival. This exemption takes place as part of an agreement in which hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including several high-ranking Hamas members, are released, reported krone.at .

emotional return and new challenges

Tal Shoham, who spent an incredible 504 days in captivity, will be brought to a nearby base of the Israeli army together with others. There he will see his family again since the kidnapping. However, the situation remains tense, since about 60 hostages are still held in Gaza. The Israeli military spokesman said that the review of returned corpses, including those of Shiri Bibas and her children, leads to further questions. The military reported that the identity of Shiri's remains could not be confirmed, which is a "serious injury", as they reported. This situation ensures concerned discussions about the continuation of the negotiations on the next phase of the agreement, since the recovery of the remaining hostages is endangered, so