People cheer as Palestinian Hamas militants parade three newly-released Israeli captives on stage in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner release. AFP
The three men—Eliya Cohen, 27; Omer Shem Tov, 22; and Omer Wenkert, 23—were captured on 7 October 2023. Earlier in the day, Hamas released two other captives in Rafah: Avera Mengistu, 39—held for a decade after crossing into Gaza—and Tal Shoham, 40.
Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, who had been held captive by Hamas for nearly a decade, was expected to be handed over in Rafah. Initially, it was unclear why Hamas fighters handed over Shoham in Al-Sayed’s place. Later, Al Jazeera reported that Al-Sayed would be released in a separate handover in Gaza City.
Sources related to Hamas' armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, told Al Jazeera that Al-Sayed would be released without a handover ceremony out of respect for Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCI), also known as 1948 Palestinians. The group added that Israel had “abandoned” Al-Sayed for 10 years because of his status as a PCI.
In 1948, around 150,000 Palestinian Arabs remained in the area that became the state of Israel and were granted Israeli citizenship and the right to vote. Today, approximately 1.6 million Palestinians live in Israel, making up 20 percent of its population.
The release of the six men marks the final group of living captives to be freed during the first phase of the ceasefire, which will expire on 1 March.
In return, Israel is set to free 602 Palestinian prisoners, including 50 serving life sentences, 60 with long sentences, 47 previously released in earlier exchanges, and 445 from Gaza arrested since the war began. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said 108 prisoners will be deported outside Palestinian territories.
Hamas said it will also release four more bodies next week, completing the first phase of the ceasefire. If carried out, Hamas would retain about 60 captives, roughly half of whom are believed to be alive. The resistance group has stated it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Since the ceasefire deal went into effect on 19 January, Israel has received 22 captives, including four who were dead, in exchange for the release of more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners. The first phase of the agreement stipulates that Hamas will release 33 captives, eight of whom are dead, in exchange for 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel’s 15-month genocidal war on the strip has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The war has levelled two-thirds of the strip, reducing entire neighbourhoods to rubble and displacing 90 percent of its population, many of them multiple times.
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