Palestinian militants released two Israeli hostages on Saturday, February 22, among the last captives eligible for release under the initial phase of a fragile truce that also includes the exchange of Palestinian prisoners.
The release follows an emotional period in Israel after the family of Shiri Bibas confirmed on Saturday that they had received her remains. Bibas and her two young sons had become symbols of the suffering endured by Israeli hostages since the Gaza war began.
Militants had seized dozens of captives during the unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered more than 15 months of conflict in Gaza.
In Rafah, southern Gaza, armed and masked fighters escorted Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu onto a stage before Shoham was made to address the gathering. The two were then handed over to the Red Cross, which transported them in a convoy. Israeli security forces later took custody of them and returned them to Israeli territory, according to the military.
In Tel Aviv, hundreds gathered at ‘Hostages Square’ and reacted with applause and tears as they watched the broadcast of the release.
Four additional hostages were set to be freed later that morning in a separate exchange in central Gaza. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum had published the names of those expected to be released: Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, and Hisham al-Sayed, alongside Shoham and Mengistu. Sayed and Mengistu had been held in Gaza for about a decade.
The hostages were freed as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal that began on January 19 and is set to expire in early March. A Hamas source confirmed plans to release four more hostages from Nuseirat in central Gaza later in the day.
At both release sites, militants staged what has become a well-rehearsed ceremony, setting up stages in front of banners promoting their cause and honoring fallen fighters. The Red Cross has repeatedly called for handovers to be conducted with dignity.
Under a cold rain in Rafah, Hamas fighters displayed a show of force, standing with automatic weapons and rocket launchers while Palestinian nationalistic music played. Hamas’s green flags were prominently displayed around buildings destroyed in the war.
Meanwhile, Israel was set to release 602 Palestinian prisoners as part of the exchange, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group.
A spokeswoman said most of them were Gazans arrested after the war began, with some facing deportation outside Israel and the Palestinian territories. Those being expelled were serving heavy sentences.
So far, the ceasefire has resulted in the release of 21 living Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
Saturday’s release of hostages follows Thursday’s first transfer of hostage bodies. Hamas initially claimed that the remains of Shiri Bibas were among those returned, but Israeli authorities later determined they were not hers, leading to widespread grief and anger.
Hamas later acknowledged “the possibility of an error or mix-up of bodies,” blaming Israeli airstrikes for the confusion.
The Red Cross confirmed the transfer of more remains on Friday but did not disclose whose they were. The Bibas family later stated, “After the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, this morning we received the news we feared the most. Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family to rest.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing domestic pressure over his handling of the war and hostage situation, vowed on Friday to “ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement.”
On Friday, February 20, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated that an analysis of the remains confirmed that Palestinian militants had k!lled Bibas’s sons, Ariel and Kfir, “with their bare hands” in November 2023. Hamas has maintained that an Israeli airstrike k!lled the children and their mother early in the war.
Shiri’s sister-in-law, Ofri Bibas, said the family was “not seeking revenge right now” but directed criticism at Netanyahu, stating there would be “no forgiveness” for failing to secure the safety of the mother and her young sons.
Among the four bodies returned Thursday, February 20, was that of Oded Lifshitz, 83. Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the October 7 attack that triggered the war. Of those, 65 remain in Gaza, including 35 who the Israeli military says are dead.
The attack resulted in 1,215 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 48,319 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable.
