Hamas Released Six Hostages in Exchange for the Freedom of 602 Palestinian Prisoners

In the seventh round of prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas, the extremist group released six Israeli hostages on Saturday, March 4, starting with two individuals, then three more, and finally the last one, in exchange for approximately 600 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas first released two Israeli hostages in Rafah in southern Gaza: Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, who were handed over to Red Cross officials after being displayed in a public setting as per recent custom. Israel condemned the ceremony held for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza as 'shameful,' and the United Nations has also called on the extremist group Hamas to cease this practice; however, Hamas openly views this ceremony as a show of strength. Three more living hostages were released on Saturday in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza: Omer Shemtov, Ilya Cohen, and Omer Venkert. Hisham Shaban al-Sayed was also released at a third location. Shortly after, the Israeli army confirmed that the sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, had been handed over by the Red Cross. Among the six hostages, two, namely Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, had been held captive in Gaza for over ten years and were not captured by Hamas forces on October 7, 2023, like the other four hostages. An hour after the first two hostages were released, Israeli media reported that the Israeli army had published a list of 602 Palestinian prisoners who were to be released on Saturday. Simultaneously, Reuters reported that Hamas had expressed readiness to enter the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza: the group is prepared for a complete and comprehensive prisoner exchange in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, began on Sunday, January 30. According to the agreement, in the first phase, which lasts 42 days, Israeli forces will gradually withdraw from central Gaza, a total of 33 Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be released, and 600 trucks of humanitarian aid will enter the Gaza Strip daily. Hamas previously released three more hostages in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners last week in the sixth round of Israeli hostage and Palestinian prisoner exchanges. An hour before the hostages' release, the family of Shiri Bibas announced that the second body returned from Gaza, identified as Shiri Bibas, belonged to this Israeli citizen. This family has become a symbol of the hostage crisis in Israel. On Saturday, March 4, they announced that the identification process of the body had been completed in forensic medicine, stating that the body of this woman has now returned to her children, husband, and entire family. The council of the Neir Oz settlement, where Yarden Bibas, the father of the family who was freed from the hands of the extremist group Hamas in Gaza less than three weeks ago, also confirmed the news of Mrs. Bibas's death. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Friday, March 3, that the extremist group Hamas had delivered the body of a woman from Gaza instead of Shiri Bibas's body. Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, delivered the bodies of four hostages to the Red Cross on Thursday, identifying them as belonging to an 84-year-old journalist and peace activist, a mother, Shiri Bibas, and her two children. After it was confirmed that the first body delivered did not belong to Mrs. Bibas, Mr. Netanyahu emphasized that Israel would act 'decisively' to 'bring Shiri back home along with all the abductees, alive or deceased, and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and wicked violation of the agreement.' Subsequently, the extremist group Hamas announced that there was a possibility of 'mistakes in the delivery of bodies' and handed over the remains of a new body to the Red Cross, which has now been confirmed to belong to Shiri Bibas. Shiri Bibas, 33, was abducted along with her two sons, one four years old and the other ten months old, during the attacks on October 7. At that time, the release of a video showing the abduction of this family, with Mrs. Bibas holding her two children wrapped in blankets and terrified, sparked global outrage. Yarden Bibas, the father of this family, was abducted just hours before them and was finally freed after 16 months about two weeks ago. The Israeli army has announced that autopsies of the bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas indicate that the two children were killed before November 28, 2023 (one month and three weeks after being taken hostage) or shortly before that date. Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated on Friday that Ariel and Kfir Bibas were 'brutally' murdered. He rejected Hamas's claim that the two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike.