Hamas releases all 6 hostages as first phase of Gaza ceasefire ends

The sixth and final hostage has been released by Hamas and is back on Israeli soil, the military said on Saturday.

“A short while ago, the returning hostage Hisham al-Sayed crossed the border into Israeli territory accompanied by IDF (military) and ISA (security agency) forces,” a statement from the military said, adding that he was “on his way to an initial reception point in southern Israel”.

Earlier today, the Palestinian terrorist group “paraded” five hostages in the Gaza Strip before handing them over to the Red Cross. As in previous hostage releases, the freedmen were given certificates in Hebrew to mark the end of their captivity.

Who are the hostages?

The hostages who were part of the latest exchange are: Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert, 23, Tal Shoham, 40, Avera Mengistu, 38 and Hisham al-Sayed.

Hisham, who was held captive in Gaza for a decade, was the last hostage to be released by Hamas on Saturday.

The recent hostage release marks the end of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire truce.

Shem Tov, who was abducted on October 7 from the Nova music festival in southern Israel, waved and blew kisses to the crowd before kissing two of his Hamas captors on their keffiyeh-wrapped heads.

US President Donald Trump announced the release of the sixth hostage on Truth Social.

Netanyahu to hold meeting

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to hold security discussions tonight, focusing on the objective of recovering all hostages, both alive and deceased, a government source told the Times of Israel.

The Israeli prime minister accused Hamas on Friday of killing two Israeli children in Gaza and said the militants would pay for failing to return their mother, Shiri Bibas, which Hamas blamed on a possible “mix-up” of bodies.

With inputs from agencies