Four Israeli hostages were freed on Saturday from captivity in Gaza after being kidnapped on October 7, 2023. Another two mentally ill Israeli men were released a decade after crossing into Gaza and being taken hostage by Hamas.

Tal Shoham, 39, Omer Shem Tov, 22, Omer Wenkert, 23, Eliya Cohen, 27, Avera Mengistu, 38, and Hisham al-Sayed, 37, are the final living hostages that were set for release in the first part of Israel’s ceasefire deal with Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups.

Five out of six hostages were once again paraded on a stage at two different locations in Gaza, forced to wave to the cameras and smile. They were once again given “gift bags” containing maps of “Palestine” and “certificates of release.”

Shoham and Mengistu were then handed over to the Red Cross in southern Gaza’s Rafah, while Shem Tov, Wenkert, and Cohen were transferred to the humanitarian organization in Nuseirat, in central Gaza.

Al-Sayed was handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City away from the cameras, allegedly “out of respect” for his Arab family from the Bedouin town of Hura in southern Israel.

All hostages were then transferred to Israeli forces inside Gaza, who escorted the men to a military base on Israel’s side of the border, where they were greeted by some of their loved ones.

Shoham, Shem Tov, Wenkert, and Cohen were then airlifted to the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. Mengistu and Al-Sayed were both transferred to the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

All men looked to have lost a lot of body weight, but according to initial medical assessments their respective conditions appear to be stable.

The released hostages

Mengistu and Al-Sayed, who both suffer from severe mental illnesses, made their way into Gaza on their own accord, where they were taken into captivity by terrorists. Then-38-year-old Mengistu crossed into Gaza from Zikim Beach in September 2014.

Al-Sayed entered Gaza in April 2015 through the Erez crossing. In 2022, Hamas released a video of Al-Sayed on what appeared to be a hospital bed, hooked up to an oxygen tank.

Shem Tov, Wenkert, and Cohen were all abducted from the Nova music festival.

Herzliya-native Shem Tov attended the festival with his friends, Itay and Maya Regev, who were abducted along with him, but freed in the November 2023 hostage deal.

Wenkert attended the festival with his childhood friend Kim Damti, an Irish-Israeli citizen. The two sought shelter in a nearby structure when the attack began. The structure was hit by several hand grenades, killing Damti and other festivalgoers who hid inside it. Wenkert survived but was taken captive. Wenkert’s relatives fought tirelessly for his release, fearing he would die in captivity due to his colitis.

Cohen attended the festival with his fiancé, Ziv Aboud. The two were shot and wounded when the attack started, and sought refuge at the nearby bomb shelter. Cohen was abducted, while Aboud played dead and managed to survive. Cohen was taken to Gaza on the same pickup truck as Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Shoham, who holds Austrian citizenship, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri. He was visiting his wife’s family in the kibbutz for the Sukkot holiday. His wife Adi, daughter Yahel, 3, son Naveh, 8, and mother-in-law Shoshan Haran were all taken hostage with him, but released in the November 2023 deal. Shoham’s father-in-law was killed in the ordeal.

Tal Shoham waves to the crowds waiting for him at the hospital https://t.co/9AEWJxrHFf

— Israel Hayom English (@IsraelHayomEng) February 22, 2025

As part of the first part of the ceasefire agreement brokered between Israel and terrorist groups in Gaza, only four more bodies of hostages are expected to be released in the coming days. In return, Israel has freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, hundreds of them jailed for their roles in deadly terror attacks.