Avera Mengistu, who crossed into Gaza nearly ten years ago and has been detained there since, along with Tal Shoham, a hostage captured in Gaza during the deadly October 7, 2023, attack, have been freed as part of a ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel in Rafah, located in southern Gaza, on February 22, 2025.

Hamas released two hostages and planned to free four more from Gaza on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. This came after Israel confirmed that a body handed over earlier that day belonged to hostage Shiri Bibas.

Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39, were transferred to the Red Cross in Rafah, southern Gaza, after being escorted onto a stage by armed Hamas militants. The release of four additional hostages was expected to take place soon after in central Gaza.

The six hostages set to be freed on Saturday are the final living captives from a group of 33 scheduled for release in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on January 19.

Four of the hostages Shoham, Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Omer Wenkert, 23 were taken by Hamas militants during their assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. Shoham was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri, along with his wife and two children, who were released during a brief truce in November 2023. The other three were seized from the nearby Nova music festival.

Two others, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, and Mengistu, have been detained by Hamas since they voluntarily entered Gaza about a decade ago.

Hundreds of Israelis gathered in the rain at what is now known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, cheering as they watched the release unfold on a large screen. Further south, crowds lined the roads near the Gaza border, waiting to welcome the convoy transporting the freed captives.

The Hamas-led releases have involved public ceremonies where captives are taken on stage, with some required to speak. These events have drawn growing criticism, including from the United Nations, which condemned the “parading of hostages.”

Hamas dismissed the criticism on Saturday, framing the ceremonies as a solemn display of Palestinian unity.

In exchange for the hostages, Israel is expected to release 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from its custody as part of the latest phase of the ceasefire agreement. Among them are 445 Gazans arrested by Israeli forces during the war, along with numerous convicts serving long or life sentences, according to Hamas.

Killed While in Captivity

The delicate truce between Israel and Hamas faced a potential collapse due to a misidentification of a body released on Thursday, initially thought to be that of Shiri Bibas, who was abducted along with her two young sons and husband during the Hamas attack in 2023.

However, on Friday night, Hamas handed over another body, which Bibas’s family confirmed as hers.

“Last night, our Shiri was returned home,” her family stated, noting that Israel’s Institute of Forensic Medicine had verified her identity.

The Bibas family has become a symbol of the devastation experienced by Israel on that day. The misidentification of her remains, along with Hamas’s orchestrated handover of coffins, sparked outrage among Israelis. Her husband, Yarden, who was captured and held separately from the rest of the family, was freed on February 1.

Israel’s military announced that intelligence assessments and forensic examinations confirmed that Bibas’s two children 10-month-old Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel were deliberately killed by their captors “in cold blood.”

Citing forensic conclusions, Israel’s Army Radio reported that Bibas was likely killed alongside her children.

Hamas, however, claims that the Bibas family died in an Israeli airstrike. The Mujahideen Brigades, a group that had custody of the family, also confirmed this version of events, according to the Israeli military.

Ceasefire

Although the ceasefire has temporarily halted the fighting, the prospect of a lasting end to the war remains uncertain. Hamas has made efforts to demonstrate that it still holds power in Gaza despite suffering heavy losses during the conflict.

The war was triggered when Hamas launched an assault on Israeli communities, resulting in 1,200 deaths and the abduction of 251 individuals, according to Israeli authorities.

The Israeli military campaign has killed at least 48,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials, leaving large parts of Gaza in ruins. Hundreds of thousands remain displaced, sheltering in temporary camps and reliant on humanitarian aid.

Both sides have indicated willingness to engage in negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire, which mediators say would focus on securing the return of around 60 remaining hostages fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

However, prospects for an agreement remain clouded by sharp disagreements over Gaza’s future. Tensions have been further inflamed by widespread condemnation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to evacuate Palestinians from Gaza and transform the area into a resort-style development under American control.