Israel to release 620 Palestinians as six Israeli captives have been released in Gaza’s Nuseirat, Rafah and Gaza City

Hamas has handed over six Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Gaza, finalising the first phase of a precarious ceasefire deal with Israel.

The transfers, staged in Rafah and Nuseirat on Saturday, included four men seized during the 7 October 2023 attacks and two others detained for nearly a decade.

In return, Israel is expected to release 602 Palestinian detainees, including 445 people it detained during its recent war on Gaza as well as dozens serving lengthy or life terms, according to Hamas.

The handovers unfolded across multiple locations, with the first two captives, Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, presented by masked Hamas fighters on a stage in Rafah before being transferred to Red Cross officials.

Three additional captives – Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, and Omer Shem Tov – were later released in Nuseirat, central Gaza, where Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud a “more organised” process compared to earlier exchanges.

Omer Shem Tov surprised many during the handover ceremony by kissing two militants on the forehead and blowing kisses to the crowd.

This gesture occurred during a staged event in Nuseirat, where Shem Tov, along with fellow captives Omer Wenkert and Eliya Cohen.

Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, deployed reinforcements to manage the crowds.

The sixth captive, Hisham al-Sayed, a 37-year-old Bedouin Israeli detained since 2015, was handed over without ceremony in Gaza City.

The latest releases concluded the first stage of the ceasefire, which began on January 19 and saw 33 captives freed in total.

The ceasefire faced potential disruption following a misidentification involving the remains of Shiri Bibas, a captive killed alongside her family during the October 7, 2023, attacks.

Hamas rectified the error late on Friday, transferring her confirmed remains to the Red Cross.

Her family confirmed her identity on Friday, stating the confirmation “brings no comfort, though we hope it marks the beginning of closure”.

The error had prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accuse Hamas of a “malicious violation”, though the group cited a logistical oversight.

Under the truce’s first phase, launched on 19 January, 33 captives and over 1,000 Palestinian detainees have been exchanged.

Talks for a second phase, linking further releases to a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal, remain contentious.

Hamas demands a full end to the war, while Israel insists on the return of all captives.

With 59 captives still held in Gaza, roughly half presumed alive, mediators face a 1 March deadline to bridge divides.