Jerusalem, Feb 22 (IANS) Israel has confirmed that two hostages, Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, have been handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas as part of a planned release.
The Red Cross is now escorting them to Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet officials inside Gaza before they are taken out of the Strip.
A video released by Hamas shows Shoham and Mengistu emerging from Hamas vehicles in Rafah, appearing visibly frail.
“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 Gaza,” the IDF posted on X.
“The IDF is prepared to receive additional hostages who are due to be transferred to the Red Cross in the near future,” the statement added.
Announcing the release, Israel War Room posted, “Tal was savagely abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7 massacre. Avera, who suffers from mental health issues, wandered into Gaza in 2015 and was seized by Hamas. Welcome home.”
Family, friends, and supporters have gathered in Tel Aviv to await their arrival and welcome them back home.
In exchange, Israel is set to release 602 Palestinian prisoners. Among them, 60 are serving long sentences, 50 are serving life terms, and 47 were re-arrested after their 2011 release in exchange for captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Over 100 of those released will be deported.
Along with Shoham and Mengistu, the six hostages expected to be freed include Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, and Hisham al-Sayed. They will be handed over to IDF forces by the Red Cross in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel confirmed early Saturday that Shiri Bibas, another hostage held by Hamas since October 7, 2023, was murdered by her captors. Her body was handed over overnight and identified upon arrival in Israel.
Israeli officials revealed that Bibas was brutally murdered in November 2023 along with her two children, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, who was just nine months old at the time.
The confirmation of their deaths follows a failed attempt by Hamas to return Bibas’ remains a day earlier when the body delivered was found to belong to a Palestinian woman instead, according to reports from the Times of Israel.
Bibas’ murder marks the loss of three generations of her family in the Hamas-led attack. Her parents, Yossi and Margit Silberman, were killed in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
Hamas was initially expected to return the remains of Bibas and her sons on Thursday, along with fellow hostage Oded Lifshitz. The remains of Ariel, Kfir, and Lifshitz were later positively identified, with forensic evidence confirming that they were murdered over a year ago.
The fourth body handed over by Hamas was initially claimed to be Bibas but was later identified as an unnamed Palestinian woman from Gaza.
Hamas later alleged that an Israeli airstrike had caused a mix-up with the bodies. However, Israeli military sources rejected this claim, asserting that forensic evidence confirmed Ariel and Kfir were murdered by their captors in November 2023, when Kfir was 10 months old and Ariel was 4.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari described the horrific circumstances of their deaths.
“The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys — they killed them with their bare hands. Afterwards, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities,” he said on Friday.
The confirmation of Bibas’ death closes another painful chapter for her family and the people of Israel, underscoring the brutality of the October 7 attack.
–IANS
sd/rad
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