Six Israeli hostages freed ahead of Palestinian prisoner release

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

The released hostages included four kidnapped during the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel - Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert.

The two other men freed, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, have been held in Gaza for years - Mr Mengistu since 2014 and Mr al-Sayed since 2015.

The six are the final hostages still alive to be returned as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal set to end next Saturday. Israel and Hamas have yet to agree the terms of a second phase.

Later on Saturday, 602 Palestinian prisoners are set to be released, the majority of whom were detained after the 7 October 2023 attack.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjry4nqw4z0o

[dutch777]

1. Is the thinking about stringing out these releases that it lets the ceasefire settle in? Otherwise this seems drawn out

I can't imagine what the hostages and their families go through in all this.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. I guess it was to give both sides the incentive to keep negotiating about the 2nd phase

but in practice that seems to have gone almost nowhere, and I think Hamas staging circuses around the handovers will have moved Israeli public opinion towards resuming fighting rather than doing a deal. Hamas were, I guess, looking to make themselves look "tough" to keep their control among Palestinians.

[twodogsbarking]

3. Is the US helping or just taking advantage? I question the intentions.

https://www.state.gov/u-s-security-cooperation-with-israel/#:~:text=Since%20its%20founding%20in%201948,joint%20exercises%2C%20and%20helping%20Israel

[moniss]

4. My feeling has been all along that the

mysterious "Phase 2" was a ruse. What I expect is that Netanyahu will claim the negotiations a failure in short order and return to bombing. I think he will declare a "permanent presence" for the IDF or a full blown annexation which is what the radical right in his government want. I don't envision a West Bank scenario for Gaza if this "permanent presence" happens. I think it will be much more aggressive in bringing in Israeli settlements and driving Palestinians out. The question will be to where and how much resistance there will be.

People need to remember that Gaza is not a large land area to begin with, shockingly small really, and so annexation will be the most efficient means in the view of the Israeli government. It saves them much of the time they've gone through in appropriating and litigating grabbing land in the West Bank. I think they will favor a major push for annexation and then deal with any pushback by implying people are anti-Semitic, uncaring, ignorant of facts/history or by just giving a general middle finger to the world regarding international law or conduct.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Hamas hands over six hostages but Israel delays release of 600 Palestinians

Hamas released six Israeli hostages on Saturday, but Israel delayed the handover of more than 600 Palestinians it was due to free from its prisons in exchange, putting the five-week-old ceasefire agreement once more in jeopardy.

The government said the release would be delayed until after a scheduled meeting of the security cabinet on Saturday evening at the earliest.
...
Under the terms of a ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to free 602 Palestinians from its prisons, of which 445 had been captured in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the war. They were due to be released inside Gaza. Of the remaining 157 Palestinians freed, some were due to be deported while others were transferred to the West Bank. Of them, 50 had been serving life sentences.

The head of the Israeli prison service, Kobi Yakobi, has sought to use the exchanges to make political points. Palestinians freed in an exchange the previous week had been made to wear T-shirts with an Arabic inscription: “We will not forget and we will not forgive”.

On Saturday, Yakobi prepared sweatshirts for the Palestinians being handed over that said: “I will pursue my enemies and overtake them, and I will not return until they are destroyed”, as well as bracelets inscribed: “The eternal people do not forget. I will pursue my enemies and overtake them.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/22/hamas-releases-six-hostages-exchange-israel-gaza-ceasefire-deal