Mugdha Das

Hamas releases 3 Israeli hostages to Red Cross

Digital Desk: According to Reuters, Palestinian militant group Hamas has released three more Israeli captives to the Red Cross as part of the Gaza ceasefire accord.

Masked, armed Hamas fighters brought out three Israeli men - Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen - to pose on stage in front of hundreds of Palestinians in the central town of Nuseirat.

According to the Associated Press, the three hostages, clad in fake army uniforms, were loaded into Red Cross vehicles bound for Israel.

Cohen, Shem Tov, and Wenkert were kidnapped by Hamas militants at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, when militants attacked southern Gaza, prompting Israel to strike the militant group in Gaza.

Earlier in the day, two more captives were freed in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. The hostages have been identified as Tal Shoham (40), and Avera Mengistu (39).

Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, the sixth hostage, was anticipated to be released in Gaza City.

Hamas has kept Al-Sayed and Mengistu since they entered Gaza on their own approximately a decade ago. Shoham, on the other hand, was taken from Kibbutz Be'eri together with his wife and two children, who were released after a brief truce in November 2023.

According to Reuters, the six are the last alive captives from a group of 33 who are scheduled to be released in the first stage of the ceasefire agreement, which went into force on January 19.

The hostages were released on Saturday, a day after Hamas returned the bodies of a child and a baby, Ariel Bibas (4 years old) and Kfir Bibas (10 months old).