Hamas has started to release the six Israeli hostages from Gaza in the final exchange of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal’s first phase. NBC’s Hala Gorani reports for Saturday TODAY.
The seventh and final hostage-prisoner exchange of the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal is underway. The release of Palestinian prisoners has been postponed until 8 p.m. local time . The reason for the delay remains unclear.
The hostages freed today are: Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham Al-Sayed. Israel is set to release approximately 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees — the largest group since the start of the ceasefire — which will include 151 prisoners with life or high sentences and 445 detainees taken from Gaza since Oct. 7.JERUSALEM — With Saturday’s release, 25 living hostages have now been returned since the ceasefire took effect last month. Five Thai hostages have also been freed separately. The remains of four Israeli hostages were returned this week in a transfer that was marred when Hamas handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother of two young boys abducted by militants. After a tense standoff, her remains were returned and identified early Saturday.Bodies of dead hostages returned in deals: 4Hostages in captivity who are soldiers: 13, of whom Israel has declared 7 to be deadNon-Israelis still in captivity: 5 , of whom 2 are believed to still be aliveFormer hostage Tal Shoham was released today and reunited with his wife and two children, who were also taken hostage by Hamas and released in November 2023 during the first deal between Israel and the group.In one picture, Shoham is seen with his son, who is carrying a sign that reads:"Freedom. It's crazy!"A number of Red Cross vehicles including a bus have been seen waiting outside the Ofer prison in the Israeli-occupied West Bank today.Hostage Omer Wenkert embraced two of his family members at a holding room following his release by Hamas this evening, per video released by the Israel Defense Forces.Wenkert was emotional as he saw his family members for the first time since 2023, when he was taken hostage by Hamas.Returning hostage Hisham al-Sayed has arrived at a reception point in southern Israel, according to the IDF, after he was released earlier by Hamas.Hamas’ military wing told NBC News earlier that al-Sayed would be handed over separately to the five other hostages released today, without the ceremony that other returning hostages have undergone in Gaza before their release.The Ramallah and Al-Bireh governate in the Israeli occupied West Bank says the release of Palestinian prisoners has been postponed until 8 p.m. local time .Israel is set to release about 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees — the largest group since the start of the ceasefire — and will include 151 prisoners with life or high sentences, and 445 detainees taken from Gaza since Oct. 7.Omer Shem Tov waved and blew kisses to the crowds that had gathered where the helicopter carrying him to the Rabin Medical Centre had landed. As Shem Tov was transferred from the helicopter into the van, he waved from the passenger seat as it drove past the crowds, before the van stopped briefly, giving the 22-year-old a chance to soak in the adulation. Omer Shem Tov at the moving meeting with his parents, Malki and Sheli, at the initial absorption point in Israel.Israel is set to release four journalists today, according to the Center for the Protection of Journalists. Muhammad Imad Al-Sultan, Khader Abdel Aal, Baha Al-Ghoul, and Hamza Radwan are set to freed, it said, as part of the seventh batch of prisoners released by Israel during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. The Committee to Protect Journalists, a separate organization, said the Israel-Gaza war has killed 170 journalists, with a further 45 imprisoned. It said 162 Palestinian, two Israeli and six Lebanese journalists had been killed since Oct 7. 2023.Israel is set to release ten prisoners today who were first arrested before the Oslo accords were signed in 1993, a series of landmark agreements that sketched out a roadmap to peace but ultimately crashed in a blaze of mutual mistrust and renewed violence. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said these prisoners were released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange, but were re-arrested in 2014 during a cross-border war between Israel and Hamas. Among them is Nael Barghouthi, who was first arrested in 1978, and Alaa al-Bazian, who it said was arrested in 1979, before he was released and re-arrested two more times in the following 46 years. Overall, the organization said that 41 prisoners who were released as part of the 2011 exchange and arrested again in 2014 would be released again today. They did not say what the prisoners had been sentenced for, and Israeli officials were not immediately available to comment.Eliya Cohen and Omer Shem Tov are on their way to the Rabin Medical Centre with their families after arriving at a reception point in southern Israel, according to the IDF. The pair were released in Nuseirat by Hamas earlier today alongside Omer Wenkert. They were taken captive during the Nova music festival on Oct 7. 2023.A sixth hostage has been transferred Red Cross custody, the IDF said, and is on his way to Israeli military forces in the Gaza strip. The IDF did not name the hostage, but it is thought to be Hisham al-Sayed, who was set to be released today by Hamas after 11 years in captivity. Hamas’ military wing told NBC News earlier that he would be handed over separately to the five other hostages released today, without the ceremony that other returning hostages have undergone in Gaza before their release.Tov's sister, Dana Shem Tov, center, cheers as she watches his televised release at their family home in Tel Aviv today.Israel is expected to release 620 Palestinian prisoners today, the biggest release of the ceasefire so far, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club. The group will include 151 prisoners with"life sentences and high sentences," it said, as well as 24 women and children and 445 Palestinians who have been detained from Gaza since Oct. 7.Hamas has announced its readiness for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement as the militant group as the final prisoner and hostage exchange of the first stage of the ceasefire began. “We confirm our readiness to move to the second phase of the agreement, and our willingness to complete a comprehensive exchange process, which will achieve a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of the occupation,” Hamas said in a statement, warning Israel not to evade the agreement. Negotiations over the second stage of the ceasefire deal, originally slated to begin Feb. 4, is intended to secure the release of the remaining 58 hostages and discuss the administration of post-war Gaza.Hostage Hisham al-Sayed, who is set to be released today by Hamas after 11 years in captivity, will be handed over in Gaza without the ceremony of other the Israeli hostages, Hamas' military wing told NBC News.a Palestinian Bedouin citizen of Israel, was kidnapped after crossing the border into Gaza in 2014. The Supreme Steering Committee for Negev Arabs in Israel issued a statement saying the decision by Hamas was a sign of respect for Palestinians living inside Israel, and serves as a message that they"are not part of the Israeli army." According to Human Rights Watch, medical reports reveal that doctors had diagnosed al-Sayed with schizophrenia and personality disorder, and had him institutionalized many times. In June 2022, Hamas released a video of Al-Sayed showing him lying on a cot with an oxygen mask and warning that he was ill.The two returning hostages released earlier today, Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham, are each aboard separate helicopters with their families and on their way to hospital, according to the IDF.Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, and Omer Wenkert, who were each taken captive during the Nova music festival on Oct 7. 2023, have appeared on stage to the sound of cheers from the crowd.Tov, 22, kissed one of the armed fighters on the head, sparking an eruption of cheers. He appeared to be laughing and chatting with his captors before the three were led into Red Cross vehicles. Hisham Al-Sayed, who has been held in Gaza for over a decade, did not appear on stage, and it is unclear when he will be released.The same member of the Red Cross who signed documents on stage earlier in Rafah is now on the stage in Nuseirat signing documents with Hamas. Moments before, the Palestinian flag was raised on a mast while the Palestinian national anthem was played, the first time this has happened at a hostage release.During every other release, these cars have carried the returning hostages, and as in previous releases, the cars are also accompanied by a truck carrying a group of fighters holding guns. According to NBC's team in Gaza, the handover in Nuseirat appears to have the highest number of militants in attendance since the start of the exchanges.Hamas are expected to hand over four hostages in Nuseirat, after two were transferred to the Red Cross earlier today in Rafah.President Donald Trump appeared to step back from his plans for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and displace the Palestinian population, after allies Egypt and Jordan bluntly rejected the plan. During a telephone interview with Fox News radio, Trump said he was surprised that the two countries had not wanted to adopt his plan, despite the U.S. giving them"billions of dollars" a year, but said he was not going to force his idea on the region. "I'll tell you, the way to do it is my plan. I think that’s the plan that really works. But I’m not forcing it. I’m just going to sit back and recommend it," he said. Trump also acknowledged the possibility of Hamas' continued presence in a post-war Gaza, saying that it could be difficult to remove the group entirely. "The question is, can you wipe them all out?" he asked."You know, they’re so interspersed among people, and it’s certainly not an easy thing to do."The family of returning hostage Avera Mengistu says it has endured “ten years of unimaginable suffering” after he was released earlier today. Mengistu, a Jewish Israeli of Ethiopian descent, was kidnapped while crossing the border into Gaza in 2015. “During this time, there have been continuous efforts to secure his return, with prayers and pleas, some silent, that remained unanswered until today,” Mengistu’s family said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Fellow hostage Hisham Al-Sayed was similarly kidnapped while crossing the border in 2014, and is set to be released in Nuseirat later today.The two hostages released in Rafah today have been transferred to Israeli custody inside the Gaza Strip, the country’s military said. The Israel Defense Forces said Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu would be taken to Israeli territory where they will undergo “an initial medical assessment.”In Nuseirat, fighters have set up a similar staging arena, with dozens of Hamas fighters gathered to oversee the release and hundreds of civilian spectators, many of them wrapped in coats and sweaters in the wet weather.Hamas is set to release three hostages captured at the Nova musical festival here later today: Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, and Omer Wenkert.The two hostages were quickly taken off stage and transferred into the Red Cross vehicles after briefly appearing in front of the crowd.The speed of the transfer marks a departure from recent weeks, when hostages have taken part in a more elaborate and choreographed ceremony involving interviews, speeches, and photos with fighters.Tal Shoham is the first to emerge from the white vehicle to the sound of cheers from the crowd. He is promptly taken to the stage alongside a number of fighters holding weapons.As with previous releases, the pair appear to be holding documents. Shoham has also been handed a microphone, and said a few words before waving to the crowd.Crowds of civilians have begun to gather in Nuseirat in central Gaza, where the second release is set to take place later today.A member of the Red Cross has taken to the stage to the sound of whistles and cheers, where a fighter has presented her with a document to sign, following the procedure of previous releases.At least three vehicles have arrived at the staging area ahead of the hostage release in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Two white cars appear similar to the vehicles that have carried returning hostages to previous releases. As previously, the cars were also accompanied to the square by a truck carrying a number of fighters holding guns.Friends and supporters of Omer Shem Tov have gathered at his high school today in Herziliya to celebrate his impending release from captivity.Footage of the group showed them singing, smiling and clapping ahead of his return, while waving signs in the air amidst a sea of Israeli flags.Loved ones of Eliya Cohen have also gathered in Tel Aviv ahead of his release, and were pictured waiting anxiously as the day unfolds., is the last of a group of seven family members kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 2023, during the Hamas attacks. His wife, two children, mother-in-law, and two other relatives were freed during the release in November 2023., a 39-year-old who has been held in Gaza since 2014. Mengistu immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia when he was five., who has been held in Gaza for nearly a decade. Hamas released a video of Al-Sayed in June 2022 showing him lying on a cot with an oxygen mask and warning that he was ill., 22, was also captured at the festival. Tov's mother tracked the signal on his phone on October 7, which showed him heading into Gaza after he had told her he was trying to escape from shooting in the area., 23, a restaurant manager, had sent texts to his family from the festival describing his fear. They learned of his kidnapping from a friend. Red Cross vehicles have arrived at the arena in Rafah, where Hamas are set to release two hostages today.Footage filmed by the NBC News crew showed civilians whistling as a convoy of four vehicles squeezed its way into the staging area, each of them bearing the Red Cross flag. Red Cross vehicles accompanied by buses from Rafah have also set off toward the Kerem Shalom crossing east of Rafah to receive the Palestinian prisoners who will be released today in exchange for the hostages.Scores of fighters have gathered by a stage set up by Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, masked and holding weapons in what had become a familiar display of force by the militant group during the hostage releases. Hundreds of civilians have also gathered in the drizzling rain to watch as the group is expected to hand over Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham to the Red Cross.After Israel accused Hamas of reneging on the deal over the body of Shiri Bibas, Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said in a statement yesterday that Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip resulted in"corpses of Israeli prisoners mixing with corpses of Palestinians, thousands of whom are still under the rubble." Naim further expressed frustration at the"double standards" regarding the treatment of Palestinian and Israeli dead, saying that Palestinians officals have received bodies from Israel"in blue bags without any identification on them and without any respect for their humanity." "We did not hear any condemnation of these crimes from international officials and the official western media did not care about Palestinian human rights," he added.The Palestinian Prisoners' Media Office said that as part of the hostage-prisoner exchange deal, about 600 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released from Israeli prisons. Most of the prisoners set for release were arrested from the Gaza Strip after Oct. 7, 2023, it said. Others include 50 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and 60 prisoners with high sentences.Their names are: Elia Maimon Yitzhak Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Finkert, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu, Hisham Al-Sayed. Mengistu and Al-Sayed had entered the Gaza Strip more than a decade ago and have been held there since.Human remains returned by Hamas to Israel on Friday are those of hostage Shiri Bibas, her family said Saturday, two days after “Last night, our Shiri was returned home,” the Bibas family said in a statement Saturday local time through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters, a group that represents the families of those in Hamas captivity. “Following the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, we received this morning the news we had dreaded — our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family for rest,” the family said.
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