Hamas Frees 6 Hostages, Israel Still Delays Release of 620 Palestinian Prisoners

JERUSALEM, SUNDAY — As planned and agreed, Hamas has released six Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip, Saturday (22/2/2025). However, until Sunday (23/2/2025), Israel has not released 620 Palestinian prisoners, as per the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Israel was due to release 620 Palestinian prisoners as part of a swap of six Israeli hostages on Saturday. The release of the Palestinian prisoners was supposed to be carried out by Israel after the six Israeli hostages were released by Hamas through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Israeli military vehicles, which usually lead convoys of buses carrying Palestinian prisoners, had left Ofer Prison. However, the vehicles suddenly turned around and went back into the prison.

The Palestinian Authority's detainees' affairs committee confirmed Israel's suspension of the release of Palestinian prisoners until "further notice." The Palestinian Prisoners' Advocacy Group said Israel should release 620 Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanoua said in a written statement that Israel had failed to fulfill the agreed release of prisoners. This is a clear violation of the ceasefire.

Qanoua urged Egyptian and Qatari negotiators to pressure Israel to fulfill its obligations without delay.

In a written statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners was postponed until "the release of the next hostages is guaranteed and (carried out) without humiliating ceremonies (for them)."

The statement referred to Hamas's previous methods of freeing hostages, which involved parading hostages on a stage in front of a crowd and sometimes asking them to speak before handing them over to ICRC officers.

Coffins containing the bodies of the dead hostages were also handed over to the ICRC in front of a crowd on Thursday (20/2/2025). The UN and the ICRC have criticized the method of releasing the hostages.

Hamas rejected criticism of the manner in which the hostages were released, saying it was part of a solemn show of Palestinian unity.

Hamas has denied criticism of the way the hostages were released, saying it was a demonstration of the solidarity of the Palestinian struggle.

During the release of the Israeli hostages, Saturday (22/2/2025), five of the six hostages were escorted by members of Hamas who covered their faces and were armed in front of the crowd. The five hostages released were Eliya Cohen (27), Omer Shem Tov (22), Omer Wenkert (23), Tal Shoham (40), and Avera Mengistu (39).

Cohen, Shem Tov, and Wenkert—who were abducted from the Nova music concert when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023—were handed over to ICRC officials in Nuseira, central Gaza Strip. With a beaming face and appearing under pressure, Shem Tov kissed the foreheads of two Hamas members and made a distant kissing gesture toward the crowd.

The hostages were wearing uniforms similar to soldiers, although they were not soldiers when they were kidnapped from southern Israel. Dozens of Hamas fighters were seen standing guard amid the crowd of Gazans who witnessed the handover of the hostages to ICRC officers. The hostages looked thin and pale, climbing onto a stage and waving to the crowd.

There were two hostages who were released earlier, namely Shoham and Mengistu, in Rafah, southern Gaza.

Another hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, a Bedouin Arab citizen of Israel, was secretly released in Gaza City and handed over to the ICRC before being taken to Israel. Hisham al-Sayed entered Gaza in 2015. His family told Israeli media that he had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Previously, on Friday (21/2/2025), Hamas had returned the body of hostage Shiri Bibas, the mother of two children who was also kidnapped, after previously sending the wrong body. Israeli forensic authorities confirmed that the body handed over on Friday was Bibas.

This weekend's exchange of six Israeli hostages and 620 Palestinian prisoners was supposed to be the largest single-day exchange of hostages and prisoners in the first phase of the ceasefire. The first phase of the ceasefire is set to last for 42 days from January 19, 2025, and is due to expire in early March 2025.

Hamas said it would hand over the bodies of four hostages next week as a final surrender under the first phase of the ceasefire. After that, it will continue to hold more than 60 hostages, about half of whom are believed to be alive.

Hamas has stressed that it will not release the remaining hostages before there is a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, according to two Israeli officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to hold consultation meetings on Saturday evening local time. "After the consultations are over, a decision will be made on the next steps regarding the ceasefire with Hamas," said one of the Israeli officials who did not want to be identified.

Shortly after the Israeli hostages were released, Netanyahu issued a statement, saying he would continue to act decisively to return all hostages. Meanwhile, Israel's ally, the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that if the remaining hostages were not released, Hamas would be crushed.

Upon arrival in Israel, the Shem Tov hugged his parents tightly. “How I missed this moment,” he said, crying and laughing. The incident was recorded and distributed by the Israeli military.

Meanwhile, Shoham smiled, waving to his friends waiting in front of the hospital where he was handed over by the ICRC to Israeli authorities. “We have been waiting for Tal to come home every day since the incident on October 7, 2023. It is so nice to see him really come back,” said Yael Avner (50), one of Shoham’s friends.

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker who is still being held in Gaza, accused Netanyahu of deliberately dragging things out. A peace agreement and hostage release have not materialized because Netanyahu is trying to get support from his coalition, namely the far-right camp whose ideology is to destroy Palestine and continue the war.

Einav Zangauker called for the hostages to be released all at once.

Meanwhile in the West Bank, the families of Palestinian prisoners wait all day for the release of their families who should be released immediately after the Israeli hostages are released. “Waiting is really torturous. "We are patient and remain strong God willing," Shireen al-Hamamreh told AFP.

Brother Hamamreh was scheduled to be released by Israel in the city of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

The current ceasefire is expected to halt Israel's offensive in Gaza. However, it is unclear whether the war in the Gaza Strip will end and a peace process will lead to a two-state solution where Israel and Palestine live side by side.

Hamas has on various occasions demonstrated its presence as an effective government in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Israeli government, which is dominated by extreme right groups, opposes the existence of Hamas and the Palestinian state.

The Hamas-Israel war began with a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed—some due to mistaken Israeli military targets, around 250 hostages were kidnapped and taken by Hamas and Palestinian struggle factions to the Gaza Strip.

Israel's counterattacks have resulted in more than 48,000 deaths, the majority of whom are women and children in the Gaza Strip. Currently, Hamas and Israel are discussing a second phase of ceasefire negotiations aimed at the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza. (AP/AFP/Reuters)