Hostages Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham were released in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, crossed into Israel, and arrived at the reception point to reunite with their families on Saturday, with Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, and Eliya Cohen being released from the Nuseirat refugee camp shortly after, given to the Red Cross, and then crossed into Israeli territory under IDF custody.
Hostage Hisham Al-Sayed was shortly after released from captivity in Gaza City.
This marks the first time in the deal that hostages were released in Nuseirat and in Rafah.
Shoham was forced to make a speech on Hamas’s makeshift stage before he and Mengistu were handed to the Red Cross.
Shoham appeared pale and underweight, while Mengistu appeared relatively stable and retained a similar body weight to when he was kidnapped. Shoham landed in Rabin Medical Center for treatment. Mengistu will be treated at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.
After the announcement that both safely crossed into Israeli territory, the Shoham family said, “The Shoham, Korngold, and Haran families are moved to welcome Tal back to us. This is an unforgettable moment where all emotions are rapidly mixing together. Our Tal is with us.”
“We thank all the people of Israel who stood with us through all the long days of pain and suffering. During these days, we need privacy for Tal, Adi, and the children. At this crucial moment in our lives, our only request is to seize this window of opportunity to secure a deal that will bring fathers back to their children – children need their fathers – and return all hostages home: the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for eternal rest. There is a window of opportunity; we must not miss it.”
The Mengistu family added, “Our family has endured ten years and five months of unimaginable suffering. During this time, there have been continuous efforts to secure his return, with prayers and pleas, some silent, that remained unanswered until today. In these moments, we gather in anxious anticipation of the return of our beloved son, brother, and uncle Avera. We ask that these moments be respected and that we be granted the peace and rest we so desperately need.”
At the release ceremony in Nuseirat
The release ceremony in Nuseirat for Shem Tov, Wenkert, and Cohen happened not long after the one in Rafah. Wenkert notably lost a lot of weight. Shem Tov kissed one of the Hamas terrorists on the head while he was on stage. The three arrived at the reception point at Re’im base accompanied by IDF personnel, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment before being admitted to hospitals for treatment.
Hamas also added a third location, Gaza City, where they will release Hisham al-Sayed, a security source said. Hamas has not planned any ceremonial event for al-Sayed “out of respect for his family and respect for Muslim Israelis,” according to Gazan reports. al-Sayed, like Mengitsu, has been held captive far prior to October 7, 2023, as the Bedouin-Israeli hostage was held in the Palestinian exclave for nearly a decade.
Al-Sayed was retrieved from the Red Cross without a ceremony and crossed into Israeli territory.
Red Cross vehicles had first arrived in Rafah on Saturday morning to collect Mengitsu and Shoham, to which they were transferred to Israeli forces and then to the Re’im base in Israel, where they reunited with their families, and then be transferred for medical treatment at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center or the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. The hostages will undergo an initial medical assessment before being admitted to the hospitals.
Like in previous hostage releases, the Hamas terrorist organization set up a propaganda ceremony by setting up a stage in Rafah decorated with provoking images and captions. Saturday morning’s caption reads: “The land distinguishes its people from the dual nationality figures.”
Hamas terrorists were filmed standing in a line in the pouring rain, armed with long rifles, according to Ynet.
In parallel with the release of the six hostages from the Gaza, a Red Cross convoy arrived at the Kerem Shalom crossing to receive Palestinian security prisoners who will be released in exchange from prisons in Israel, Walla reported.
Previous hostage releases
Saturday’s release of hostages marks the seventh wave of hostage releases in the hostage deal.
The last hostage release event, where they delivered the bodies of Oded Lifshitz and the bodies of the Bibas children, Kfir and Ariel, depicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire. The children’s mother, Shiri Bibas, was only returned to Israel much later on Friday night after Hamas had returned the remains of a different woman instead, who didn’t match any hostage that was taken.
The Nuseirat refugee camp was also where Operation Arnon took place during the war, where the IDF rescued four hostages: Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov in June of last year.
Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, 36, the IDF Yamam fighter who was wounded in the hostage rescue operation, succumbed to his wounds at the hospital, and the operation was named in his honor.
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