Hamas has handed over the first two of six Israeli hostages set to be freed on Saturday under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The handover took place in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where masked and armed Hamas fighters brought the captives onto a stage before placing them into Red Cross ambulances.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said Israel would free 602 inmates on Saturday as part of the exchange.
The two released hostages, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39, were transported towards a nearby crossing into Israel. Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli, had been held in Gaza since entering on his own in 2014. His family, watching the handover on Israeli media, broke into the Hebrew song “Here is the Light” as they saw him for the first time in a decade. Shoham, who was taken hostage during the October 7, 2023, attack while visiting his wife’s family in Kibbutz Be’eri, has now been reunited with officials. His family told Israeli media they were “starting to breathe again” after seeing him on the stage.
The Israeli military confirmed that the two hostages freed were now in its custody in the Gaza Strip.
Red Cross ambulances arrived in Rafah earlier in the day to facilitate the transfer. Footage showed the vehicles waiting among crowds, with a line of Hamas fighters nearby. While Shoham and Mengistu were freed in Rafah, the remaining four hostages—Omer Shem-Tov, 22; Eliya Cohen, 27; Omer Wenkert, 23; and Hisham al-Sayed, 36—are expected to be released later in Nuseirat, central Gaza.
This exchange comes as tensions between Israel and Hamas grow, putting the fragile ceasefire deal at risk. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised revenge, calling it “a cruel and malicious violation” of the agreement. He was referring to a mistake in identifying a body released by militants. Israeli forensic experts confirmed that the remains of Shiri Bibas, a mother of two, had been handed over after another body was wrongly identified as hers. The first body was later found to be an unidentified Palestinian woman.
“For 16 months we sought certainty, and now that it’s here, it brings no comfort, though we hope it marks the beginning of closure,” the Bibas family said in a statement.
The ceasefire’s first phase has seen hostages freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. On Saturday, more than 600 Palestinian detainees are set to be released, including 50 serving life sentences, 60 with long sentences, and 47 who had been freed in previous prisoner exchanges but later rearrested.
Despite ongoing disputes, Hamas has stated it will continue with the agreed releases. The group’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed plans to hand over four more Israeli hostages next week. If carried out, Hamas would still hold about 60 captives, roughly half of whom are believed to be alive. The group has insisted that further releases will only occur if a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal are secured.
Netanyahu, backed by US President Donald Trump‘s administration, has vowed to dismantle Hamas’ military and governing capabilities while ensuring the return of all hostages. However, Trump’s proposal to remove around two million Palestinians from Gaza to allow US reconstruction efforts has drawn criticism from Arab nations.
The war, which has lasted over 15 months, has had devastating consequences. Gaza’s health ministry reports more than 48,000 Palestinian deaths. Israel has stated it has killed over 17,000 Hamas fighters, though it has not provided evidence. The fighting has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, with 90% of the population displaced at the height of the conflict. Many returning residents have found their homes destroyed and no means to rebuild.