(LONDON) — Hamas released six living hostages on Saturday in separate locations of the Gaza Strip — including the city of Rafah in the south and the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the enclave.
Stages were set up in each location on Saturday morning, surrounded by Hamas fighters and crowds of onlookers.
Two hostages — Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39 — were released following a signing ceremony in Rafah.
“According to the information communicated by the Red Cross, two hostages were transferred to them, and they are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,” a joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency said. “The IDF is prepared to receive additional hostages who are due to be transferred to the Red Cross in the near future.”
Meanwhile, after a signing ceremony between Red Cross and Hamas officials, three hostages — Eliya Cohen, 27; Omer Shem Tov, 22; and Omer Wenkrat, 23 — were released in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
“According to the information communicated by the Red Cross, three hostages were transferred to them, and they are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,” read a separate joint statement from the IDF and ISA. “The IDF is prepared to receive an additional hostage who is due to be transferred to the Red Cross in the near future.”
A sixth hostage, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was the last to be released, according to Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. He is being accompanied by Israeli forces to a meeting point in southern Israel to reunite with his family.
“Israeli citizens embrace the six returnees who returned to Israel today,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
In exchange for these hostages, Israel is expected to release hundreds of Palestinians from its prisons. Based on previous exchanges, this part usually begins after the hostages are back on Israeli territory.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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