Benjamin Netanyahu News: Five of the six Israeli hostages held under a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas were handed over to the Red Cross on Saturday. The hostages were brought to the Red Cross by masked, armed Hamas fighters in front of hundreds of Palestinians at two separate ceremonies in Gaza.
In the central city of Nuseirat, three Israeli youths - Omer Wenkert and Omer Shem Tov - were put into Red Cross vehicles that flew them to Israel. Earlier, two other hostages, Tal Shoham (40) and Avera Mengistu (39), were released in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a similar process. They were brought to the Red Cross ambulances by masked Hamas fighters that then headed to a nearby crossing into Israel. The sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed (36), is also to be released on Saturday.
Hamas' mistake and Israel's responseThe release of the hostages is happening at a time when Hamas handed over the body of another woman instead of the body of Shiri Bibas, the mother of two young children who was kidnapped. The Palestinian side also seems dissatisfied with this mistake. Hamas handed over the body of an unidentified Palestinian woman along with the bodies of two sons, which Israel described as a "brutal and malicious violation" of the agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the incident and warned Hamas to face serious consequences. On the other hand, Hamas termed it an "unintentional mistake".
Background of the released hostagesAmong the released hostages, Avera Mengistu was taken captive in Gaza in 2014. His family expressed happiness over his release and sang songs. Similarly, Tal Shoham, a resident of the northern Israeli village of Maale Tzvia, has also been released. He had gone to Kibbutz Beri to meet his wife's family when Hamas extremists attacked there on 7 October 2023.
Further prospectsThis is the last living hostage to be released under the first phase of the ceasefire. However, amid this tense situation, the chances of the conflict between Israel and Hamas ending seem low. After Netanyahu's warning, the whole world is keeping an eye on Israel's next strategy.