Hamas Releases Six Hostages as Israel Recovers Shiri Bibas’ Body
Hamas released six living hostages to the Israel Defense Forces as well as returning the body of Shiri Bibas, a mother who was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, to Israel. According to CBN News, Omer Wenkert, 23, Omer Shem Tov, 22, Eliyah Cohen, 27, Tal Shoham, 40, Avera Mengistu, 39, were released by Hamas in two separate ceremonies in central and southern Gaza, respectively. A sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, was also set free.
Both Mengistu and al-Sayed had been held captive in Gaza for over a decade.
Meanwhile, Israel is expected to release more than 600 Palestinian inmates and prisoners, including those convicted of killing Israelis, in return for the hostages.
The families of the hostages expressed great joy upon their release on Saturday.
"Eliya, Eliya, Eliyah!" Cohen's family chanted when they saw him appear on a big screen in Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, Shem Tov's grandmother shouted, "My joy, my life!" when his image appeared.
In a statement by Mengistu's relatives, "Our family has endured 10 years and five months of unimaginable suffering. During this time, there have been continuous efforts to secure his return, with prayers and pleas, some silent, that remained unanswered until today. …We ask that these moments be respected and that we be granted the peace and rest we so desperately need."
Kibbutz Nir Oz, the neighborhood where the murdered members of the Bibas family were from, declared, "With pain and deep sorrow, Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the murder of Shiri Bibas, may her memory be a blessing, who was kidnapped from her home."
"Today, after 16 unbearable months, this painful circle has finally been closed for the family, and in the coming days, she will return, together with her two small sons, to eternal rest in the soil of Israel."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed Bibas' murder in a video statement on Friday.
"Who kidnaps a little boy and a baby and murders them?" Monsters, that's who," he said.
"These Hamas monsters also cynically refused to bring back the boys' mother, Shiri, and sent the body of a Gazan woman instead, in brazen violation of the agreement. Today, the heavens shake," the prime minister added.
"As the prime minister of Israel, I vow that I will not rest until the savages who executed our hostages are brought to justice," he contended.
WATCH: Netanyahu Vows Hamas Will Pay for Not Returning Body of Shiri Bibas
Photo Credit: ©YouTube/Global News
Originally published February 24, 2025.
