Two Israeli hostages held captive for over ten years have been released by Hamas under the first phase of a fragile ceasefire with Israel.
Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held hostage since 2014 and 2015, were handed over to International Red Cross officials in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Mr Mengistu and Mr al-Sayed will now make their way across the border into Israel. They are two of six Israeli hostages set to be released on Saturday.
Omer Shem Tov, 22, Eliya Cohen, 27, and Omer Wenkert, 23, who were all seized from the Nova Festival on 7 October 2023, are also set to be freed.Tal Shoam, 40, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri, is also set to be released.
The six Israeli hostages are the final living captives to be freed under phase-one of the fragile ceasefire.Under the agreement, 33 hostages were set to be released under the first phase, which comes to an end at the beginning of March.
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