Hamas hands over the last hostage in the first phase of the Gaza fire break

Hamas hands over the last hostage in the first phase of the Gaza fire break

Hamas handed over five out of six hostages on Saturday, which were to be released in the Gaza Strip - the last living prisoners who had agreed the parties to the conflict as part of a ceasefire that had existed since the last month.

handover of the hostages to Nuseirat

in Nuseirirat, in the central Gaza strip, gathered thousands, including fighters of the Hamas, where three of the hostages - Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert - were handed over to the Red Cross in a solemn ceremony. There were also several children on the stage who wore T-shirts with photos killed Hamas leader.

condition of the freed hostile hostages

The three hostages seemed emaciated, but were in better constitution than some of the previously released hostages whose health had caused concern in Israel. Omer Shem Tov interacted on stage with some of the Hamas fighters and sent a kiss to the crowd.

further open there and conditions of the hostages

Another exchange on Saturday led to the release of two prisoners in another place in the South Gaza city of Rafah. Tal Shoham, 40, was kidnapped from the Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, while Avera Mengistu, 38, an Israeli from Ashkelon, entered the 2014 Gaza Strip.

The five hostages were brought to Israel later after being handed over by the Red Cross to the Israeli military, as the Israeli defense forces (IDF) announced.

expected further hostage handover

Another hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, an Arabic-Israeli Beduine who went to the Gaza Strip in 2015, should also be handed over to Nuseirira, but is now released in another place. A source from Hamas informed CNN that al-Sayed is handed over to the Red Cross in the city of Gaza and that his state of health was very critical.

background of the hostage -taking

Shoham was one of four of the six hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th. Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Omer Wenkert, 23, were kidnapped during the Nova music festival, while Shoham was kidnapped from the Kibbutz with his two children, his wife and mother -in -law; The latter were released in November 2023.

claims from Hamas

Hamas said on Friday that Israel expects the release of 602 Palestinian prisoners in exchange. Among these are 50 people sentenced to life sentences and another 60 who are serving long punishments, while 445 in Gaza have been recorded in Gaza since October 7, 2023 without being charged.

fate of further hostages is uncertain

The prisoners released on Saturday are the last living hostages, which were agreed in Qatar in the past month between Israel and Hamas as part of the indirect discussions in Qatar. Shortly before they were handed over to the Red Cross in Rafah, Shoham and Mengistu were flanked by armed and hooded fighters on the stage. They had to accept documents and Shoham was forced to contact the crowd.

The sad return of Shiri Bibas

The remains of another Geisel, Shiri Bibas, arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday evening. Her remains should actually be handed over with those of their two sons, Kfir and Ariel, as well as another Geisel, Oded Lifshitz. However, forensic tests of the Israeli authorities confirm that the remains contained the two boys and Lifshitz, but the fourth body was not Shiri Bibas - and also did not match that of another Israeli hostage, which led to outrage and conviction.

future negotiations in view

After the release on Saturday, Hamas will continue to hold 63 Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli government, at least 32 of them are considered dead - including the soldier Hadar Goldin, which has been held since 2014. If another four hostages take place next week as planned, the first part of the agreement will be completed.

Israel and Hamas lead indirect negotiations to extend the ceasefire. These conversations started more than two weeks late. On Saturday, Hamas signaled that it was ready to hand over all remaining Israeli hostages, alive or dead in an exchange for the withdrawal of the Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip as part of the next phase of the ceasefire.

This reporting has been updated for additional information. CNNS Tim Lister, Lucas Lilieholm and Brad Lendon contributed to this report.