Feb. 22: Netanyahu delays planned prisoner release until Hamas ends ‘demeaning ceremonies’

Netanyahu says prisoners will not be freed until hostages released without Hamas hoopla

Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv, February 22, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Israel is indefinitely delaying the release of Palestinian prisoners who had been slated to be freed Saturday as agreed in a hostage release deal with the Hamas terror group, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says in a statement.

“In light of the repeated violations by Hamas — including the ceremonies that demean our hostages and the cynical use of our hostages for propaganda purposes — it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists planned for yesterday until the next release of hostages is guaranteed, and without the degrading ceremonies,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office reads.

The statement could trigger Israel’s withdrawal from the ceasefire deal following the release of 25 living hostages and the bodies of four others, but with another 63 people still in Gaza, at least two dozen of them still alive.

Four more bodies are slated to be released on Thursday in exchange for more prisoners, in the last planned transfer of the first stage of the agreement.

There are currently no arrangements for another release of living hostages beyond a framework deal whose details remain to be hashed out and whose future remains very much in doubt.

The move comes after Hamas held ceremonies for the release of five Jewish hostages Saturday, even forcing two still-captive Israelis to watch and record a propaganda video. A sixth hostage, who is not Jewish, was released without fanfare.

Israel has decided to free Palestinian prisoners — reports

Reports in Hebrew media outlets suggest that Israel’s government has decided to release Palestinian prisoners who had been slated to be go free Saturday in exchange for six living hostages released from captivity in Gaza.

A decision on the prisoners had been expected following security consultations Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is conducting. According to at least one report, those discussions are ongoing despite the decision regarding the prisoners.

The prisoners are expected to be released in the next several hours, according to the reports.

In Ramallah, dozens of Palestinians continue to wait in frigid temperatures outside a community center for the buses carrying prisoners being released to the West Bank.

Report claims prisoner releases may begin within half-hour

The Palestinian Quds News outlet reports that Hamas expects Israel to start freeing prisoners under the hostage release-ceasefire agreement by 12:30 a.m.

The network reports that Hamas received a signal from international mediators regarding the impending release. There is no confirmation of the report from any official sources.

Israel had been expected to release the prisoners earlier in the day, but says it has delayed the move until Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finishes security consultations regarding the return of the remaining Israeli hostages.

No reason has been given for the delay but it comes amid anger over the fate of hostages Shiri Bibas and her two small sons, whose bodies were returned on Thursday and late Friday. Israel says they were murdered in captivity.

Families of hostages Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa-Dalal okay publication of Hamas propaganda clip from today

Hostages Evyatar David (left) and Guy Gilboa-Dalal speak in a Hamas propaganda video filmed at the site and time of the release ceremony in Gaza for three other captives, February 22, 2025. (Screenshot: Telegram)

The families of Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal have approved the publication of Hamas’s propaganda video, in which the two hostages are seen being brought to watch the release of three other captives today.

David and Gilboa-Dalal were brought by Hamas to a stage set up by the terror group in central Gaza’s Nuseirat to watch Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert be freed from captivity after 505 days.

The two best friends are seen in the video calling on Israeli officials to secure their release, in remarks almost certainly dictated by their captors.

David’s sister, Yeela, calls Hamas “monsters” after watching the clip, saying on Instagram: “They are alive. They put both of them this morning in the most horrifying and evil situation they could be. There is no limit to the messed-up cynicism of these monsters. I admire you, my brothers.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum reacts by highlighting the “difficult and cruel psychological torment” the remaining hostages have been undergoing for 505 days, beyond the “inhuman physical conditions.”

“They are running out of time!” it adds. “The Israeli government and the prime minister must expedite the negotiations and bring about the immediate return of all the hostages, without delays and without trickles” of captives in multiple batches.

Both hostages are not slated for release in the current phase of the ceasefire deal.

It is the first sign of life from David that has been made public since he was abducted on October 7, 2023, and the first sign of life from Gilboa-Dalal that is from later than June 2024.

Hostages Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal speak in a Hamas propaganda video filmed at the site and timing of the release ceremony in Gaza for three other captives, February 22, 2025. (Telegram)

Rubio: Hamas ‘must release all of the hostages immediately or be destroyed’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks as he prepares to board an aircraft to depart to the US, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 19, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Hamas must free the remaining 63 hostages it is holding, or face its demise.

“Hamas’ treatment of hostages, including its brutal murder of the Bibas family, further illustrates their savagery and is yet another reason why we are saying these terrorists must release all of the hostages immediately or be destroyed,” Rubio says on X.

At Bibas family’s request, no government minister to attend funeral for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir — report

Oded Lifshitz (left); Shiri Bibas, Kfir Bibas and Ariel Bibas (Amiram Oren/Courtesy)

No minister will attend the funeral of returned slain hostages Shiri Silberman Bibas and her young kids Ariel and Kfir Bibas, after they were told the family does not want any government representative present, the Walla news site reports.

It adds that Interior Minister Moshe Arbel (Shas) will represent the government at the funeral of returned slain hostage Oded Lifshitz, which will be held at Kibbutz Nir Oz on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Freed hostage Eliya Cohen to public: ‘Every prayer was felt in my heart and soul, strengthened me’

Freed hostage Eliya Cohen reunites with family members at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Released hostage Eliya Cohen publishes his first message on social media, just hours after returning from 505 days of captivity in Gaza.

In an Instagram story, Cohen praises and mourns all those killed in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, as well as “every soldier who gave their lives to advance my return home.”

He thanks every person who fought for his return: “Every prayer of yours was felt in my heart and soul and strengthened me every moment anew.”

He says, “We mustn’t for a moment forget our brothers who have been left behind, and I will soon join you in the struggle for them.

“I hope I will manage to soon meet everyone and meet you all,” he concludes.

“I love you.”

Hamas brought 2 hostages, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal who remain in captivity, to watch today’s release ceremony

The Hamas terror group brought two hostages who are still in captivity to watch today’s release ceremony of Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert.

In a video published by Hamas, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal are seen inside a vehicle in the stage area set up by the terror group for the release of the three captives in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.

This is the first sign of life from David that has been made public since he was abducted on October 7, 2023, and the first sign of life from Gilboa-Dalal that is from later than June 2024.

The two are seen calling on Israel to secure their release, in remarks almost certainly dictated by the terrorist captors.

Their families have requested that media outlets not publish the video or stills from it.

Report: Shin Bet head asked Netanyahu to OK killing Sinwar on Oct. 1, 2023; PMO: Complete lie

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, on April 4, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO/File)

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to approve the assassination of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar on October 1, 2023, six days before the Hamas invasion and slaughter, Channel 12 reports. But Netanyahu ignored the request, it says.

The Prime Minister’s Office immediately denies the report, and says Netanyahu at that meeting discussed a scenario of targeted killings in Gaza while Bar actually asked that Israel provide civilian incentives and benefits to Hamas to buy calm.

The Channel 12 report says it draws its material from the Shin Bet’s own investigations into its October 7 failures, and that the probes show the security service to have utterly misjudged Hamas’s intentions.

It says the Shin Bet did not regard the Hamas Nukhba forces that led the invasion as a strategic threat, believed the border fence was a potent defense against Hamas ground forces, was much more concerned about the potential threat of Hamas naval forces among other dangers, and did not even realize that the attack was looming when indications mounted in the hours before Hamas went to war.

Successive Shin Bet chiefs Yoram Cohen, Nadav Argaman and Bar did recognize that Hamas was growing stronger, however, and for years urged Netanyahu to green light the killings of Sinwar and Muhammad Deif, who were both killed by Israel last year. “But Netanyahu preferred the IDF’s stance, of quiet in return for quiet,” the report claims. The security service also bitterly opposed Netanyahu’s policy of encouraging Qatar to pump money into Gaza, the report says.

In the year ahead of October 7, Bar also sought to warn Netanyahu of the dangers of the rift in Israel over the judicial overhaul, and the potential emboldening of Israel’s enemies, but Netanyahu ignored him, the TV report claims.

The Shin Bet held a discussion in early September 2023 on the issue of readiness for a campaign in Gaza, which was also attended by IDF operations officers. The possibility of a Hamas invasion was not discussed, but it was concluded that the Strip and the West Bank were heating up and that readiness had to be raised, the report says.

Bar also sought a meeting of security chiefs with Netanyahu. In mid-September, he warned that “we are on the way to a multifront campaign.”

On October 1, Netanyahu did hold a meeting of security chiefs, the report goes on, “at which Bar recommended killing Sinwar. “The prime minister ignored” the request.

The Prime Minister’s Office calls the report “a complete lie” and says “the opposite is the case.”

In a statement, it confirms that a meeting of security chiefs was held on October 1, headed by Netanyahu, regarding Gaza. At that meeting, it says, Bar “recommended giving civilian benefits to Hamas in return for buying calm.”

Bar actually said that “targeted strikes should not be carried out in Gaza and Lebanon in order to prevent another round [of war] in Gaza,” the PMO states.

By contrast, Netanyahu at the meeting recommended “a scenario of escalation by eliminating the Hamas leadership in Gaza.”

The statement adds that on October 3, Bar delivered the firm assessment that Hamas was seeking to avoid another round of conflict against Israel and that calm could be maintained for some time “if Israel gave Gaza an economic horizon.”

Netanyahu has been widely reported to be preparing to fire Bar, and to have removed him from the team negotiating the ongoing hostage-ceasefire deal.

‘Disgraceful what’s going on there’: Trump says 6 released hostages ‘not in great shape’

US President Donald Trump tells reporters the six hostages released today by Hamas are “not in great shape.”

“We had a lot of news over the last 24 hours,” he says. “We had the hostages given back today, it’s disgraceful what’s going on there. They’re not in great shape, but we’ve also seen them in worse shape.”

He concludes: “What a terrible situation it is.”

POTUS Donald Trump:

We have had a lot of news in the last day. The abductees returned today. It's disgraceful what went on there during the release of the hostages, they are not in a great condition, but we have seen them in worse conditions. pic.twitter.com/JDrTJS5BNo

— Eli Afriat 🇮🇱🎗 (@EliAfriatISR) February 22, 2025

Netanyahu speaks with dad of Hisham al-Sayed, laments it took 10 years to return him

Freed hostage Hisham al-Sayed arrives at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, after being released by Hamas following 10 years in Gaza captivity, February 22, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with Sha’ban al-Sayed, father of Hisham al-Sayed, hours after the latter was released from Hamas captivity.

According to Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister laments the amount of time it took to bring Hisham home, but notes he had promised to work tirelessly to bring him home, and did so.

“I promised you that we would return him and we turned the world upside down,” says Netanyahu. “Now we will do what is necessary to receive him well and take care of him.”

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the elder Sayed thanks Netanyahu for his efforts and wishes him strength as he works to bring all the hostages back.

Sha’ban al-Sayed has told Kan radio that his son returned “destroyed, emotionally and cognitively,” adding: “His mental condition is in a bad state, he doesn’t communicate, and he looks like he was in a torture camp for 10 years. We didn’t think that Hamas would be so cruel.”

IDF says it struck Syria-Lebanon border to foil Hezbollah arms smuggling

The IDF says it carried out airstrikes against routes on the Syria-Lebanon border used by Hezbollah to smuggle arms.

The attempts to smuggle weapons into Lebanon “are a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military says.

4 freed hostages taken on Oct. 7 report torture, starvation; Mengistu barely communicating

Freed hostage Avera Mengistu, who was released today after more than a decade in captivity, is in bad shape and barely communicating, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

This is despite Mengistu appearing at first glance to be in good physical shape. His family is now supporting him.

Kan also reports that the four hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and released today have reported “torture, physical violence, psychological torment and extreme starving” throughout their 16 months in captivity.

The report says hostage Omer Wenkert lost around 30 kilograms in captivity before terrorist captors fattened him up ahead of his release.

Wenkert’s first request was reportedly for a cigarette, saying: “I’ve waited 500 days for this cigarette.”

Teenager shot dead in Tamra, in 41st homicide this year in Arab community

A 17-year-old was fatally shot in Tamra earlier this evening, a police spokesman says.

The victim, Jawad Amer Yassin, was a resident of the city, per local news outlets.

Law enforcement opened an investigation into the incident and have not yet apprehended any suspects.

Since the start of 2025, 41 Arab Israelis have been killed as a result of violent crime.

Captors fattened up Shoham and Wenkert to make them look better for their release — report

Newly released Israeli hostage Omer Wenkert reacts as he sits in an Israeli military transport helicopter upon arriving at Beilinson Hospital in the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva in central Israel on February 22, 2025. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Tal Shoham and Omer Wenkert, two of the hostages freed today, were held together for about eight months, they have told family. They were also held with other hostages, Channel 12 reports.

They were held in extremely humid tunnels. “All the seasons felt the same,” they say, with no difference between winter and summer.

They lost a great deal of weight, but their captors fattened them ahead of their release so they wouldn’t look so bad.

Both have said they have come to feel like brothers, and that this connection will continue for good.

Wenkert has told his family he was very badly beaten when abducted on October 7, 2023, from the Nova music festival, where his good friend Kim Damti was murdered.

Wenkert has said he did not see any media and did not know of the struggle for the hostages’ release.

He suffers from Colitis and did not receive the medicines he needs.

He has left some friends behind, he has said, and has brought back some signs of life.

His first request was to join the struggle for the rest of the hostages.

Father of returned captive at Hostages Square: Make sure today’s release isn’t the last

Gilad Korngold, the father of freed hostage Tal Shoham, speaks at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, hours after his son's release, on February 22, 2025. (The Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Speaking at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Gilad Korngold hails the return from Hamas captivity of his son Tal Shoham this morning, “after 505 long days in which he breathed the air of hell.”

He thanks the government, US President Donald Trump and the Austrian chancellor for securing the release of Shoham, a dual Israeli-Austrian citizen.

“Looking into his eyes, after so many times I imagined this meeting, was worth every moment of the unremitting struggle we and you have been waging for far too long,” Korngold tells the 2,000-odd crowd at Hostages Square.

Korngold notes that this was the last weekend of the hostage deal’s first phase.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not committed to the second phase, which would see Israel withdraw from Gaza and Hamas return remaining living hostages. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to topple the government should it withdraw from the Strip.

“As of now, this is the last Saturday that we, the citizens of Israel, will get to see pictures of hostages embracing their loved ones,” says Korngold.

“We can and must get all the hostages out,” he says. “And we need all of you, with us, to make sure that no one — no one — thwarts the rest of the mission to release the hostages who are still suffering in Gaza.”

Ahead of his speech, Korngold and his wife Nitza met at Hostages Square with Sasha Troufanov, who was released last Saturday, Hebrew media reports.

A block away, on Begin Road, hundreds of anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters rally in front of the IDF headquarters.

Yehuda Cohen, whose soldier son Nimrod is slated for release only in the deal’s second phase, accuses Netanyahu of consistently working to thwart any hostage deal since October 7, 2023, out of political expediency.

Cohen thanks Trump and his Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff for locking in the Gaza hostage deal.

Meanwhile, says Cohen, “the criminally accused Netanyahu,” who has been indicted on several counts of graft, is running “endless circles to cover up his sins and crimes.”

“The criminal Netanyahu will do anything to please the war-monger Smotrich,” says Cohen. “The criminal Netanyahu will do anything to cover up his crimes against the State of Israel.”

In English, Cohen addresses the US president, pleading with him to help secure the remaining hostages’ release: “President Trump — we rely on you. Only you can do it.”

Netanyahu talks with Avera Mengistu, promises help in rehab after a decade in Gaza captivity

Avera Mengistu (center) is embraced by family members at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv after being released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, February 22, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Avera ​​Mengistu after he was freed from Hamas captivity today, says Netanyahu’s office.

“I am moved and embrace you, and the entire people of Israel are moved with me and embrace you today,” says Netanyahu in what his office calls a “warm and moving conversation.”

Mengistu, then 28, entered Gaza from the Zikim beach in September 2014. His family had not heard from him since his abduction until a Hamas video purported to show him alive in early 2023. He spent 3,821 days in captivity.

Netanyahu thanks Mengistu’s family for continuing to fight for his release, and for not losing hope, and laments the length of time Mengistu was held captive. He promises to help in Mengistu’s rehabilitation process.

According to the PMO, the family thanks Netanyahu for their son’s return.

Released hostage Eliya Cohen only found out today that his fiancee survived Oct. 7 massacre, family says

Eliya Cohen reunites with his fiancee Ziv Abud soon after his release from Hamas captivity, February 22, 2025. (IDF)

Released hostage Eliya Cohen only discovered today that his fiancee Ziv Abud, who was with him at the Nova festival and in the fortified shelter from which he was abducted on October 7, 2023, had survived, he has reportedly told family.

His best friend was killed that day, the Channel 12 report says.

Cohen was held for most of his captivity together with Or Levy and Eli Sharabi, both of whom were recently released, and Alon Ohel, who is still held.

They were chained not only by their feet but also by their hands, which caused open cuts, and they were physically abused by their captors, Channel 12 reports.

Most of the time they were held in a pitch-black tunnel; for a few hours now and again, the terrorists lowered a torch into the tunnel.

For months on end, they were not allowed to walk and couldn’t stand. Their captors starved them, and ate their own meals in front of them.

Eliya was shot on October 7 and did not receive appropriate medical treatment, the report also says.

IDF says searching for Palestinian attackers after 2 settlers injured in West Bank clash

Two young Israelis were wounded after being attacked by Palestinians in the central West Bank earlier today, the military and medics say.

The IDF says it received reports that a group of Palestinians armed with batons, a knife and stones, attacked Israelis near the village of Dayr Dibwan, just outside Ramallah.

“Upon receiving the report, IDF and police forces rushed to the scene. IDF troops began searching the village of Dayr Dibwan, where the attackers fled,” the army says.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it treated two male Israelis, aged 18 and 17, who were lightly wounded in the incident.

Earlier reports have described the incident as clashes between settlers and Palestinians, saying three Palestinians were also injured and that settlers set fire later to several buildings in a Bedouin village near Jaba, a Palestinian town in the central West Bank.

Father says Omer Shem Tov was alone for most of captivity; was ordered to wave, kiss Hamas gunman at today’s ceremony

Released hostage Omer Shem Tov, flanked by his parents, on a helicopter being transported to a hospital in central Israel on February 22, 2025 (IDF)

Malki Shem Tov, father of Omer, says his son was held for most of his captivity alone in a tunnel.

“He said that he was in tunnels alone for the whole time — [almost] 500 days… For the first 50 days he was with Itay [Regev] and all the rest, on his own,” Malki tells Kan TV.

He says Omer “didn’t see daylight at all.”

His returned son is still “our Omer… Omer the funny, Omer the optimist, just 16-17 kilos less.”

Regarding this morning’s handover ceremony, “he told us that they compelled him to wave and to kiss [on the top of the head] that [masked] guard who was standing next to him. He said they told him what to do. You can see in the footage that someone came up to him and told him what to do.”

Channel 12, meanwhile, says Shem Tov was initially held in apartments and later in tunnels, and that he was required to dress as a Muslim woman when moved around by his captors. It says he was once lowered into a tunnel in a small bucket. Initially, his hands were bound. He was cursed and spat at.

He saw Al Jazeera, and the reports [of the struggle being waged for the hostages] strengthened him, Channel 12 says. But he once saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on television talking about the need to destroy Hamas without mentioning the hostages, and this made him very concerned, the report says.

Freed hostages take part in Havdalah service at Beilinson Hospital, hours after release

Aharon Rabi, the grandfather of freed hostage Eliya Cohen, leads a Havdalah service marking the end of the Jewish Sabbath for Cohen and fellow freed hostages Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert, at Beilinson Hospital, February 22, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Hours after being freed from Hamas captivity, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert participate in the Havdalah service, marking the end of Shabbat.

Cohen’s grandfather, Aharon Rabi, leads the joyful service with relatives of the freed hostages, IDF officers, and hospital staff looking on.

“Blessed are You, L-rd our G‑d, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion,” Rabi says as he embraces his grandson.

Ben Gvir again urges unleashing ‘hell’ on Hamas over ‘unimaginable cruelty’ toward hostages

Leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party Itamar Ben Gvir once again calls for a return to military operations to crush Hamas in Gaza, following the release of the six hostages today.

“We all saw unimaginable cruelty of the Nazis toward them [the hostages] and against Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, may God avenge their blood. The State of Israel must not allow this to pass in silence,” says Ben Gvir, who pulled his party out of the coalition in protest of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Hamas. He has vowed to rejoin if the war resumes.

“This is the time to open the gates of hell on Hamas, we must go back to war, to destroy and to take vengeance,” he declares.

Hamas slams Israel for delaying prisoner release

Hamas slams Israel for postponing the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, including many terror convicts, set to take place today as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner exchange of the current ceasefire.

Earlier today, Israel informed Palestinian officials in the West Bank that the release would be pushed back to 8 p.m. this evening, only after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finishes security consultations regarding the return of the remaining Israeli hostages.

The terror group says the delay violates the terms of the ceasefire deal and calls on mediators to pressure Israel to “respect the ceasefire agreement and implement its provisions without stalling.”

Opposition leaders promise to give Netanyahu ‘full backing’ to bring home all remaining hostages

Yesh Atid party head Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, right, speaks at a joint press conference with (R-L) National Unity party head Benny Gantz, The Democrats party head Yair Golan, and Yisrael Beytenu party Avigdor Liberman at the Knesset in Jerusalem on November 6, 2024. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

In a joint statement, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, National Unity party leader Benny Gantz and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman promise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “full public and political backing” to bring back all the remaining hostages from Hamas captivity.

“Returning the hostages is the most urgent mission. We say to the prime minister, you have full backing from the opposition to return everyone, down to the last hostage,” the three opposition party leaders say following the return today of the final living six hostages slated for release in the ongoing first stage of the ceasefire with Hamas.

The far-right Religious Zionism party, a coalition partner, has threatened to quit the coalition and topple the government if Israel does not renew its military offensive against Hamas after the final release of the first phase is completed on Thursday, consisting of four bodies of dead captives.

Lapid, Gantz and Liberman also call for the return of all remaining hostages after the first phase “in one go” — instead of the series of releases of a few hostages at a time every week as seen in the first phase — saying they “promise full public and political backing” for such a step.

“Returning the hostages is a moral order that also has value in continuing the war against Hamas, which will still take a long time,” they add, in support of further military action in Gaza against the terror group after all hostages are finally returned.

PM holding security consultation on efforts to get more hostages out, pullout from Philadelphi Corridor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins a security discussion in his office, one of the ministers’ offices tells The Times of Israel.

Defense Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Shas party chief Aryeh Deri are in attendance, as are Israel’s security chiefs, says the official.

The ministers and senior officials are discussing the idea of working with the mediators to get hostages who were slated to be released in the second phase out during the remaining days of the first phase of the deal with Hamas.

They are also discussing what to do about the requirement that troops retreat from the Philadelphi Corridor under the terms of the hostage release deal.

The text of the agreement reads: “After the last hostage release of stage one, on day 42, the Israeli forces will begin their withdrawal and complete it no later than day 50.”

Day 42 is next Saturday.

Opposition MK: Netanyahu is beholden to Qatar, ‘selling the country for monetary gain’

A "Qatargate" exhibit criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his aides' alleged ties to Qatar, at an anti-government protest at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, February 22, 2025. (Efrat Safran/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

The Democrats lawmaker Naama Lazimi tells an anti-government protest at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “selling the country for monetary gain,” following reports alleging that three of the premier’s aides had done PR work for Qatar, a backer of Hamas.

“That’s why he’s so afraid of a state commission on inquiry” into the failures of October 7, 2023, she says. “They’re afraid and they know why.”

Qatar’s influence on Netanyahu was not limited to the “suitcases of dollars” he let flow from Doha to Gaza, claims Lazimi.

“We’re talking about members of his staff working to legitimize an enemy country,” she says.

Lazimi slams Hamas for the killing of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons Ariel and Kfir in captivity.

The three bodies were returned to Israel this week. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said a forensic scan showed the boys had been murdered by their captors with their “bare hands.”

“Shiri, Ariel and Kfir — I’m sorry,” says Lazimi. “Sorry, you were abandoned in the hands of human scum, murderous terrorists.”

“Damn you Hamas,” she says, “and damn anyone who considers you an asset” — a reference to a decade-old quote by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said Israel was better off with Hamas than the Palestinian Authority because the former had less international legitimacy.

Lazimi congratulates hostages Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed on their return today.

The latter two had been in captivity since 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Lazimi accuses Netanyahu’s staff of threatening Mengistu’s family not to talk about Avera, a member of Israel’s Ethiopian community.

“It’s not news to anyone that [Netanyahu’s aides] are the most racist people in the country, right?”

Lazimi stands atop a stage where activists have placed a large statue of a train, emblazoned with the hashtag #Qatar-gate. The train is a pun — the Gulf state’s name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for train conductor.

The roughly 250 protesters march from Habima to Begin Road, where they will join an anti-government, pro-hostage deal protest.

Protesters at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv call for the release of all 63 hostages still held in Hamas captivity, February 22, 2025. (Omer Yelin/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

WATCH: Freed hostage Hisham al-Sayed reunites with family, arrives at hospital

Freed hostage Hisham al-Sayed arrives at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, after being released by Hamas following 10 years in Gaza captivity, February 22, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Hisham al-Sayed flies to Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv in an IDF helicopter with his father Sha’ban and his brother Wasim.

He then meets family members in the hospital, who kiss him and ask him in Arabic how he is doing.

Freed hostage Hisham al-Sayed arrives at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, after being released by Hamas following 10 years in Gaza captivity, February 22, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Sayed, who spent a decade in Hamas captivity and suffers from mental health issues, displays little emotion as he reunites with his family.

“How good it is that you’ve come home,” reads signs the hospital put up in Arabic and Hebrew.

His father has told media Hisham returned “destroyed, emotionally and cognitively” and that he “looks like he was in a torture camp for 10 years.”

Freed hostage Hisham al-Sayed, left, meets his father at the Re’im facility near Gaza, after being released by Hamas following 10 years in captivity, February 22, 2025. (IDF)

‘We didn’t think Hamas would be so cruel’: Dad of freed hostage al-Sayed says son ‘destroyed, emotionally and cognitively’

Hisham al-Sayed is handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza on February 22, 2025. (Hamas media office)

The father of freed hostage Hisham al-Sayed tells Kan radio that he is shocked by the poor mental and physical state of his son following his release from nearly 10 years of Hamas captivity, adding that Hisham is “destroyed, emotionally and cognitively.”

“His mental condition is in a bad state, he doesn’t communicate, and he looks like he was in a torture camp for 10 years,” says Sha’ban al-Sayed. “We didn’t think to ourselves that Hamas would be so cruel.”

‘He came out as a victor’: Freed hostage Omer Wenkert flies to hospital, meets loved ones

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert flies with his parents Niva and Shai to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (IDF Spokesperson's Office)

Footage shows Omer Wenkert flying with his parents Niva and Shai in an IDF helicopter on his way to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.

“Now it’s good!” he writes on a whiteboard. He waves and blows kisses to well-wishers waiting at the hospital as he lands.

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert flies with his parents Niva and Shai to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (IDF Spokesperson’s Office)

He arrives at the hospital as his siblings watch from the window. Wenkert is driven in a black van accompanied by IAF officers from the helicopter to the hospital buildings.

He walks through the hallways with his parents on either side. “He came out as a victor,” says his father. “My son came out as a victor from captivity. He defeated it.”

Omer is then reunited with his siblings in a tearful embrace, and he and his family joke about how his brother gained weight while he lost it.

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert flies with his parents Niva and Shai to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (IDF Spokesperson’s Office)

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert flies with his parents Niva and Shai to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (IDF Spokesperson’s Office)

Images show IDF ceremony in Gaza after receiving the body of hostage Shiri Bibas

IDF officers salute a casket containing the body of slain hostage Shiri Silberman Bibas, late on February 21, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Photos are released from an IDF ceremony in the Gaza Strip late last night upon receiving the body of slain hostage Shiri Silberman Bibas.

The coffin is seen draped in an Israeli flag as it is carried by IDF officers into a military vehicle.

Silberman Bibas’s body was identified at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir) early this morning.

Hamas returned her body last night, 504 days after she was abducted alive with her two young boys Ariel and Kfir. All three were murdered in captivity, according to Israel.

The bodies of Ariel, Kfir and fellow hostage Oded Lifshitz were returned on Thursday, along with a fourth body Hamas claimed belonged to Silberman Bibas but Israel said wasn’t her.

IDF officers carry a casket containing the body of slain hostage Shiri Silberman Bibas, late on February 21, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF officers carry a casket containing the body of slain hostage Shiri Silberman Bibas, late on February 21, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Image shows freed hostage Tal Shoham reuniting with family at hospital

Freed hostage Tal Shoham reunites with family members at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

An image released by the National Public Diplomacy Directorate shows Tal Shoham reuniting with family members at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.

Shoham spent 505 days in Hamas captivity.

Also taken hostage that day were his wife, Adi Shoham, their daughter, Yahel, 3, and son, Naveh, 8, as well as his mother-in-law Shoshan Haran, his wife’s aunt Sharon Avigdori and the latter’s daughter Noam, 12. They were released on November 25, 2023.

Many buildings, monuments worldwide are lit up in orange in memory of the Bibas family

The Obelisco de Buenos Aires in Argentina is illuminated with images of the Bibas family, February 21, 2025. (Foreign Ministry)

Buildings in major cities around the globe are illuminated in orange in memory of the Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were murdered after being taken hostage by terrorists into Gaza.

The initiative is organized by the Foreign Ministry and sees 108 missions around the world work to have their host countries participate.

Many buildings in Buenos Aires, Argentina, are lit up, including the famous Obelisco, which features an image of the entire family, which had Argentine citizenship.

The massive Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro is illuminated in orange, as are buildings in Belgrade, Los Angeles and Beijing. Italy’s Foreign Ministry in Rome participates as well.

The iconic Transamerica Pyramid Center in San Francisco is also lit up, as are Israeli embassy buildings around the world.

Rio de Janeiro, tonight 🟠

Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer is illuminated in orange, in honor of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the two Israeli boys who were murdered during their captivity in Gaza.

🇮🇱🇧🇷
📸 FIERJ pic.twitter.com/W89xCoLcEG

— Yonatan Gonen (@GonenYonatan) February 22, 2025

The Transamerica Pyramid Center in San Francisco is illuminated in orange in memory of the Bibas family, February 21, 2025. (Foreign Ministry)

Footage shows Eliya Cohen’s family reacting upon watching his release on TV

Footage released by the National Public Diplomacy Directorate shows the family of Eliya Cohen watching his release from Hamas captivity on television. Some read psalms as they nervously await his return.

Cohen’s family points and begins clapping as they see him on screen for the first time, standing next to Hamas terrorists on stage.

“Eliya is returning, Eliya is returning,” they begin singing.

The family of Eliya Cohen watches his release from Hamas captivity on television, February 22, 2025. (Roi Avraham/GPO)

WATCH: Freed hostage Eliya Cohen reunites with his parents, fiancee

Eliya Cohen reunites with his fiancee Ziv Abud soon after his release from Hamas captivity, February 22, 2025. (IDF)

Footage released by the IDF shows Eliya Cohen meeting and embracing his parents and his fiancee Ziv Abud as they reunite for the first time inside Israel.

Eliya Cohen reunites with his parents soon after his release from Hamas captivity, February 22, 2025. (IDF)

Eliya Cohen reunites with his fiance Ziv Abud soon after his release from Hamas captivity, February 22, 2025. (IDF)

“No more crying in this room, enough,” he says as his parents hug him. “How are you? How was the time for you?” he asks them.

“Excellent,” his mother Sigalit says. “How I waited for you.”

On the helicopter on the way to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva with his parents and Abud, Cohen writes on a whiteboard: “I am here. I’m not being wasted anymore.”

Some more images show the reunion with family members at the hospital.

Released hostages Or Levy and Eli Sharabi, who were held with Eliya, had told Abud that her fiance had been tortured, was chained from his leg, was fed maybe one pita each day, and had lost more than 20 kilos.

Eliya Cohen with his parents and fiancee Ziv Abud on a helicopter soon after his release from Hamas captivity, February 22, 2025. (IDF)

Freed hostage Eliya Cohen reunites with family members at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Freed hostage Eliya Cohen reunites with family members at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Eliya Cohen reunites with his parents soon after his release from Hamas captivity, February 22, 2025. (IDF)

Settlers said to set Palestinian buildings on fire after several injured in clashes

Makeshift buildings in a West Bank Bedouin village burn after being reportedly torched by Israeli settlers on February 22, 2025. (Screenshot/X)

Arab outlets report that Israeli settlers set fire to several buildings this afternoon in a Bedouin village near Jaba, a Palestinian town in the central West Bank.

According to Ynet, the arson follows a series of violent clashes and stone-throwing incidents between settlers and Palestinians wielding axes outside the nearby Geva Binyamin settlement.

Five people were injured, among them three Palestinians and two Israelis.

Netanyahu welcomes freeing of 6 hostages; says Israel ‘will not forget or forgive’ murders of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauds the release of the 6 living hostages today, calling it a “moment of joy and relief” for their families and Israel.

In a statement issued as Shabbat ends, he also notes “our insistence and unequivocal demand” for the return of the body of Shiri Bibas, two days after Hamas gave Israel the body of a Gazan woman in her stead. Shiri’s body was finally returned to Israel late last night.

“We will not forget and will not forgive,” he says of the murders of the three members of the Bibas family.

Netanyahu says his government “is committed to continuing to work resolutely to return all of our hostages home – the living to their families and the dead to a proper burial in their own country.”

Forensics chief says remains of Shiri Bibas positively identified, no evidence she was killed in explosion

Dr. Chen Kugel, director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir) speaks to the media on February 20, 2025. (Screencapture)

Dr. Chen Kugel, the director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir) says that his team has positively identified the remains of hostage Shiri Bibas.

Kugel says there is no evidence at all that she was killed in an explosion. Hamas has long said that Bibas and her two small children Kfir and Ariel were killed in an IDF airstrike.

“We identified Shiri Bibas two days after we identified her children. Our examination found no evidence of injuries caused by bombing,” he says.

The identification of Shiri Bibas was delayed after Hamas sent the wrong body to Israel. The correct body was sent last night.

“Since Thursday morning we have worked professionally and carefully to provide clear answers to the Lifshitz and Bibas-Silberman families. It’s a difficult day for the families, for us, the medical staff, and for the entire nation of Israel,” says Kugel.

The body of Oded Lifshitz was also sent back to Israel.

Hamas accuses Israel of ‘baseless lies’ over Bibas hostage family killing

Hamas accuses Israel of disseminating “baseless lies” regarding the killing of Shiri Bibas and her two small children Ariel and Kfir in captivity.

“The false allegations that the criminal [Israeli] occupation is disseminating about the death of the Bibas children at the hands of their captors are merely baseless lies and fabrications,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem says in a statement. The terror group has long said an Israeli airstrike killed the three members of the Bibas family.

Israel said forensic examinations showed that the captors had brutally killed the three with their bare hands and then tried to cover it up to make it look like they died in an airstrike.

Hostage’s mother to PM: Free all the hostages, in one batch, now

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker speaks during a protest for the release of the Gaza captives, in Tel Aviv, February 15, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Einav Zangauker hails the release of the six hostages today and says the hearts of all the hostage families are with the families of slain hostages Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz.

But addressing a Tel Aviv protest, Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage, notes that 63 hostages are still “in hell in Gaza.”

She highlights the joy in Israel at today’s releases and says: “It must not be that the deal is stopped and that we return to fighting.”

Zangauker notes an ostensible Hamas proposal to release the rest of the hostages in one go and says the Americans want all the hostages back at once and so does most of the Israeli public. “One batch, right away,” she urges.

She denounces what she says is a “disconnected government” that is instead preparing for a return to the war. She charges that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who she says created the entire phased process, is “dragging his feet… trying to please his extremist coalition partners at the price of the blood of Matan and the rest of the hostages.

“Hostages first… All of them now,” she urges Netanyahu. It can’t be that Trump and envoy Steve Witkoff want this more than the prime minister, she says. “Netanyahu, these are your citizens, abandoned on your watch.”

Emotional reunion as released hostage Omer Shem Tov meets siblings in the hospital

A video shows the emotional scenes as released hostage Omer Shem Tov meets his brother and sister after arriving at Beilinson Hospital near Tel Aviv.

The video shows his brother Amit and sister Dana watching through the window the helicopter transporting Omer and his parents landed at the hospital and chanting, “Omer is home.”

They then rush to him sobbing as he enters the ward. “Now we are together again,” says mother Shelly.

“You have no idea how much I thought about you,” Omer says.

Released hostages Hisham al-Sayed and Omer Wenkert arrive in the hospital

Newly released Israeli hostage Omer Wenkert reacts as he sits in an Israeli military transport helicopter upon arriving at Beilinson Hospital in the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva in central Israel on February 22, 2025. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Released hostages Hisham al-Sayed and Omer Wenkert have arrived at Israeli hospitals, the Health Ministry says.

Al-Sayed is at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, while Wenkert is at Rabin Medical Center.

The medical teams and professionals at the hospital are prepared to receive them and provide comprehensive medical care, including psychological support and addressing any additional needs.

Wenkert is seen waving, blowing kisses, and making heart symbols to friends and family as he arrives on an IDF helicopter.

Released hostage Omer Shem Tov gives thanks and asks for a hamburger

Released hostage Omer Shem Tov, flanked by his parents, on a helicopter being transported to a hospital in central Israel on February 22, 2025 (IDF)

Released hostage Omer Shem Tov is seen in photos being airlifted by an IAF helicopter to a hospital in central Israel.

“Now everything is OK! Thank you to the dear people of Israel, and to all the soldiers!” he writes on a whiteboard.

“I want a hamburger,” Shem Tov adds.

Katz warns murder of Shiri Bibas and two children will not be taken lightly

A man in northern Israel holds a sign portraying Shiri Silberstein Bibas, whose body Hamas falsely claimed to have released, and her sons, Ariel, 4, and baby Kfir, whose remains were in fact handed over, on February 20, 2025. His sign reads 'The Bibas family: We will not forgive and we will not forget!' (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says the murder of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons Ariel and Kfir in captivity will “not be taken lightly.”

“The return of Eliya, Omer, Hisham, Avera, Omer, and Tal is an exciting and joyous moment for their families and for all the people of Israel, which is also accompanied by deep pain over the fate of Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel and Kfir, who were brutally murdered by Hamas and their partners,” he says in a statement.

“This horrible and horrific act will not be taken lightly,” Katz says.

Israel says forensic details show captors killed the three with their bare hands and then tried to cover it up.

His statement comes amid reports Israel has delayed the release of Palestinian security prisoners until a consultation to be headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this evening.

Hisham al-Sayed and family being helicoptered to hospital in central Israel

Hisham al-Sayed is seen walking with Red Cross officials after his release from captivity in Gaza, February 22, 2025. (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Released hostage Hisham al-Sayed and members of his family are being airlifted by an Israeli Air Force helicopter from an army base near the Gaza border to a hospital in central Israel, the military says.

Al-Sayed will receive medical care and meet the rest of his family there.

Video shows Hisham al-Sayed being handed over to troops in Gaza

Released hostage Hisham al-Sayed is seen in a video being handed over to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip earlier today.

He has since been brought to an army facility near Re’im to undergo an initial medical assessment and meet with members of his family.

Al-Sayed, a Bedouin Israeli from the village of Hura in the Negev desert, entered the Strip on his own near the Erez Crossing in April 2015. According to his family, he suffers from mental illness.

Hamas did not hold a ceremony for his release.

Photos show Tal Shoham reunited with family after release

Freed hostage Tal Shoham (center) and his family meet in southern Israel after his release, February 22, 2025 (IDF)

An image released by the IDF shows freed hostage Tal Shoham reuniting with his family earlier at an IDF facility near the Gaza border, after 505 days in Hamas captivity.

His wife, Adi Shoham, his daughter, Yahel, 3, and son, Naveh, 8, as well as his mother-in-law Shoshan Haran, his wife’s aunt Sharon Avigdori and her daughter Noam, 12, were also taken hostage, but released in November 25, 2023.

Another picture shows Shoham being airlifted to a hospital in central Israel, while his son holds up a whiteboard reading: “Freedom! It’s crazy.”

Freed hostage Tal Shoham and his son Naveh on a helicopter en route to a hospital after his release, February 22, 2025 (IDF)

Meanwhile, released hostage Omer Wenkert and his parents are being airlifted by an Israeli Air Force helicopter from an army base near the Gaza border to a hospital in central Israel, the military says.

Wenkert will receive medical care and meet the rest of his family there.

Release of 602 Palestinian prisoners delayed as Israel indicates it is weighing next steps

A released Palestinian security prisoner flashes the victory sign as he leaves a bus in the West Bank city of Ramallah on February 8, 2025 (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Multiple reports indicate the planned release of 602 Palestinian prisoners after today’s hostage return is being delayed.

Israel informed Palestinian officials in the West Bank that the release will be pushed back to 8 p.m. this evening, according to Arab outlets.

An unnamed Israeli source quoted by several Hebrew media outlets says: “Regarding the delay in the release of the terrorists — following the conclusion of [the prime minister’s] security consultation [tonight], a decision will be made regarding the next steps, and the completion of the return of hostages’ remains at this stage.”

Analysts speculate that the delay is tied to the brutal murders of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas by their terrorist captors, but there is no official word on this.

Hamas photo shows handover of Hisham al-Sayed to Red Cross

Hostage Hisham al-Sayed is handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza City, February 22, 2025. (Hamas media office)

Hamas releases photos showing the handover of hostage Hisham al-Sayed to the Red Cross in Gaza City earlier.

The terror group did not hold a ceremony for his release, unlike all previous hostages freed in the ceasefire deal thus far, including the bodies of slain captives.

Al-Sayed, a Bedouin Israeli from the village of Hura in the Negev desert, entered the Strip on his own near the Erez Crossing in April 2015. According to his family, he suffers from mental illness.

Video shows Omer Wenkert meeting his parents after release

Footage shows released hostage Omer Wenkert reuniting with his parents, Niva and Shai, at an IDF facility near the Gaza border, after 505 days in Hamas captivity.

Shai recites the traditional “Shehecheyanu” blessing of thanks as he embraces his son.

Families of freed hostages ‘overwhelmed,’ vow to fight for the rest

Family and friends of hostage Omer Shem Tov in Tel Aviv watch and celebrate his release, February 22, 2025. (Dana Reany / Hostages Families Forum)

Some more statements from families of the hostages released today:

Tal and Adi Shoham’s families say: “This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together. Our Tal is with us.

“Our only request is to seize this window of opportunity to secure a deal that will bring fathers back to their children. Children need their fathers.”

Eliya Cohen’s family says it is “overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude,” and had no information about his condition until he was released.

“This moment, which should be filled with joy, is also accompanied by pain over what he endured there, and for the families of those killed in the war,” says the family. “Finally, Eliya can be surrounded by his loved ones, his family, and his girlfriend, and begin a new path.”

Omer Shem Tov’s family says that “after 505 days of suffering and nightmare,” they can hug him again.

“Thank you to God, to the people of Israel for their prayers, strength, and love. Thank you to the soldiers who sacrificed for this moment, to everyone involved in the negotiations and diplomatic effort,” they say.

“We will continue to fight together with all the families and the Hostages Families Forum,” they say. “Our lives are intertwined until everyone returns.”

Itay and Maya Regev, who were kidnapped alongside Shem Tov and released in the November 2023 deal, say their “triangle is complete again.”

“Our heart is finally beating as it should, now that our best friend has returned home,” they said. “We pray and hope to witness many more moments like this. We will not stop fighting until everyone returns home.”

Netanyahu to hold security consultations tonight on remaining hostages

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with the US secretary of state, at his office in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold security consultations tonight “based on the goal of returning all of our hostages — the living and the dead,” a government source says.

With the release of the six hostages today, four hostages remain to be returned under the first phase of the ceasefire deal: Shlomo Mantzur, Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Tsahi Idan. However, Hamas has indicated that the hostages returning today are the last ones in the current phase who are alive.

Hisham al-Sayed arrives at IDF facility; video shows Hamas handing him over to Red Cross

Hisham al-Sayed is seen walking with Red Cross officials after his release from captivity in Gaza, February 22, 2025. (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Released hostage Hisham al-Sayed has arrived at an IDF facility near the border community of Re’im after being escorted out of the Gaza Strip by troops, the military says.

He will undergo an initial physical and mental checkup at the army site, and meet family members.

Al Jazeera footage shows Hamas handing al-Sayed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City a short while ago, without a ceremony.

لحظة تسليم المـ.ـقاومة الفلسطينية للأسير هشام السيد إلى الصليب الأحمر في #غزة #الجزيرة #الأخبار pic.twitter.com/P46PwGgnXw

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) February 22, 2025

Freed hostage said to bring sign of life from captive Guy Gilboa-Dalal

Guy Gilboa-Dalal was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from the Supernova desert rave (Courtesy)

Hebrew media reports that one of the freed hostages who returned today brought with him a sign of life from hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal.

The message was conveyed to Gilboa-Dalal’s family. He is not set to be released under the current phase of the ceasefire deal.

Al-Sayed family: ‘After nearly a decade of fighting, long-awaited moment has arrived’

The family of Hisham al-Sayed says in a statement that they “are overwhelmed with emotion at Hisham’s return home.”

“After nearly a decade of fighting for his return, the long-awaited moment has finally arrived,” the statement says. “We extend our gratitude to the entire people of Israel, who stood by us and supported us over the years. A special thanks to the families of the hostages and the headquarters that embraced us and saw us as a natural part of the struggle to bring everyone home.”

It adds: “Now, more than ever, we emphasize the importance of continuing the framework that will bring all the hostages home — the living for rehabilitation and the fallen for a proper burial in Israel.”

‘I dreamed of you’: Video shows Omer Shem Tov’s reunion with parents

Released hostage Omer Shem Tov reunites with his parents, Shelly and Malachi, at an IDF facility near the Gaza border, after 505 days in Hamas captivity, footage released by the IDF shows.

“You have no idea how much I dreamed of you,” Omer says to his parents as they embrace. “Us too,” they respond.

Hisham al-Sayed back in Israel after nearly 3,600 days in captivity

Released hostage Hisham al-Sayed has crossed the border into Israel, after nearly 3,600 days in Hamas captivity, the IDF says.

He was escorted out of the Gaza Strip by Israeli special forces, after being handed over to them by the Red Cross. The IDF is bringing him to a facility near the border for an initial physical and mental checkup, and to meet with family members.

Palestinian terror convict falls to his death in East Jerusalem week after release

The scene of a suicide bombing on September 9, 2003 after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of Cafe Hillel coffee shop in Jerusalem. (Flash90)

Nael Obeid, a former Palestinian prisoner who was freed to East Jerusalem in last week’s hostage-prisoner exchange, has died after falling from high altitude near his home in Issawiya, according to local Palestinian outlets.

He was pronounced dead in Hadassah Medical Center near Mount Scopus.

Nael Obeid (social media)

Obeid was sentenced to seven life sentences and 30 years for partaking in a 2003 suicide bombing at Cafe Hillel in Jerusalem. He served 21 years before being released.

The cause of his fall is not immediately clear.

Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen board chopper en route to hospital

Released hostages Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen, and members of their families, are being airlifted by an Israeli Air Force helicopter from an army base near the Gaza border to a hospital in central Israel, the military says.

Hisham al-Sayed now in the hands of the army

Released hostage Hisham al-Sayed is now in the hands of IDF troops in the Gaza Strip, the military says.

Hamas handed al-Sayed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City without a ceremony. He was then taken to Israeli forces inside Gaza.

He will be brought out of the Strip to an army facility near the border community of Re’im for an initial checkup.

Red Cross says hostage Hisham al-Sayed handed over by Hamas

Hisham al-Sayed, who wandered into Gaza in April 2015 and has been missing and believed held by Hamas ever since. (Army Radio)

The IDF says the Red Cross has notified the military that hostage Hisham al-Sayed was handed over to them by Hamas in Gaza City.

The Red Cross is now bringing al-Sayed to IDF and Shin Bet forces inside Gaza to then be escorted out of the Strip, the military adds.

He was released by Hamas without a ceremony.

Video shows Avera Mengistu meeting more family at hospital

A video shows freed hostage Avera Mengistu meeting more family members upon arrival at Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

Syrian suspect in Berlin stabbing wanted ‘to kill Jews,’ police say

Police apprehend a suspect at the scene where a person was stabbed near the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, Germany on February 21, 2025. (Odd Andersen/AFP)

A Syrian man arrested after a stabbing attack at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial that wounded a Spanish man had been harboring a “plan to kill Jews,” police and prosecutors say.

The 19-year-old arrested Friday with blood stains on his hands was carrying a copy of the Quran and a prayer rug, and initial investigations suggested “connections with the Middle East conflict,” they say.

The attacker approached the 30-year-old Spanish man from behind at around 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Friday and stabbed him in the neck with a knife, according to the investigators.

The assault took place at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a somber grid of concrete steles located near the Brandenburg Gate and the US embassy in Berlin. The victim suffered life-threatening injuries to his neck and had to be placed in an artificial coma but is no longer in critical condition.

The Syrian suspect came to Germany in 2023 as an unaccompanied minor, police say. He was granted asylum and lived in the eastern city of Leipzig, according to the investigators.

IPS once again prints shirts with threats for prisoners ahead of release

Israel Prison Service chief Kobi Yaakobi instructed guards to dress Palestinian prisoners slated for release with shirts sporting a verse from Psalms written in Arabic: “I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back until their destruction.”

Prisoners are also made to wear bracelets that read, “The eternal people do not forget. I pursued my enemies and overtook them.”

החולצה השבועית ששב"ס הלביש את האסירים הביטחוניים המשוחררים עם הכיתוב: "ארדוף אויבי ואשיגם ולא אשוב עד כלותם".
הפעם לדבריהם זה היה "בהתייעצות עם גורמי ביטחון". pic.twitter.com/ajtHO5o71v

— Josh Breiner (@JoshBreiner) February 22, 2025

Red Cross heading to Gaza City to collect hostage Hisham al-Sayed without ceremony

The Red Cross is heading to a site in Gaza City to collect hostage Hisham al-Sayed from Hamas, an Israeli defense official says.

Hamas is releasing al-Sayed without a ceremony.

Al-Sayed, a Bedouin Israeli from the village of Hura in the Negev desert, entered the Strip on his own near the Erez Crossing in April 2015. According to his family, he suffers from mental illness.

Hamas reportedly decided not to hold a release ceremony for him out of “respect” for the Arab community in Israel, despite having held him for nearly a decade, as well as murdering and abducting several Arab Israelis during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Al-Sayed was last seen in a propaganda video issued by Hamas in 2022, in which he was hooked up to an oxygen mask.

Video shows families of Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert watch their release

A video shows the families of the three hostages watching their release earlier.

Families of Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert react to their release (IDF)

Friends of Omer Wenkert prepare to meet him at last: ‘Concerned for every bit of him’

Omer Wenkert was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova desert rave on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

The family of returning hostage Omer Wenkert has asked that his airlift to the hospital pass over Gedera, Wenkert’s hometown in central Israel, where a crowd of supporters will hold up a large sign welcoming him home, Maariv reports.

Wenkert’s friends are gathered at the home of a family friend in Gedera. His mother Niva told the gathering in a video message this morning, “I love you. We’ll all meet soon,” Ynet reports.

According to the news site, after his release, Wenkert’s supporters danced to the tune of the Smachot band’s 2001 track “What a Day it was for Samuel,” his favorite song.

Osher Yifrach, a friend of Wenkert’s, tells Kan that “everyone here is hyped up, we’re insanely ecstatic.” He says Wenkert’s friends could not rest until he was safely in Israel’s hands.

“We’ve been fighting for over 500 days,” he says. “The excitement is massive, and we are unbelievably concerned for every bit of him.”

Wenkert suffers from colitis, which requires patients to eat a specialized diet unavailable to him in captivity.”

“He’s thinned a lot, which is concerning,” says Yifrach.

“We were under enormous pressure because [the disease] could have done him a lot of damage. I hope it hasn’t already,” he says. “But we knew he could do it. We believed in him.”

Over his sweatshirt, Yifrach wears a shirt reading “Bring Omer Home” in Hebrew. Asked if the shirt is now superfluous, he points to his yellow hostages’ pin and says: “The shirt is, the pin isn’t.”

Report: Released prisoners wrote ‘we will not forgive, we will not kneel’ on cell walls

Palestinian prisoners set to be released back to Gaza today engraved messages on cell walls in the Negev’s Ketziot Prison that read: “We will not forget, we will not forgive, we will not kneel,” according to a Ynet report.

The inscriptions are likely a response to shirts that Israeli prison guards made detainees wear during last week’s handover, which bore a Star of David and the words: “We will not forget or forgive.”

Tal Shoham waves to adoring crowd at hospital

Released hostage Tal Shoham embracing his son Naveh -- who was also taken hostage on October 7, 2023, but was freed by Hamas in November 2023 -- arrives at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025 (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

As Tal Shoham arrives at Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva, he stops the van transporting him from the helipad to the hospital and opens the door to wave to assembled crowds.

His son, also taken hostage on October 7, 2023, and freed during the November 2023 ceasefire, is seen beside him.

טל שוהם והבן נווה מנופפים לשלום לחברי קהילתו ממעלה צביה שהמתינו לו מחוץ למנחת בבלינסון. קהילה מדהימה שליוותה את רגעי הנחיתה בשיר ״עושה שלום במרומיו״ pic.twitter.com/dnsKbSmSHA

— מיטל יסעור (@MaytalYasur) February 22, 2025

The hospital says it will provide him with comprehensive medical care, including psychological support.

Three freed hostages back in Israel, arrive at IDF facility

Relatives and friends of Eliya Cohen, 27, celebrate as they watch the TV broadcast of his release by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, February 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Released hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert have crossed the border into Israel, after 505 days in Hamas captivity, the IDF says.

They have arrived at an IDF facility near the border community of Re’im for an initial physical and mental checkup, and to meet with family members.

Herzog calls for Israel to secure more hostage releases: ‘A humane, moral, Jewish act’

President Isaac Herzog delivers a statement on the hostage release-ceasefire deal approved by Israel and Hamas on January 15, 2025. (Screenshot, GPO)

President Isaac Herzog says in a statement on the hostages’ release: “On this heartbreaking morning, in which we received the painful news of the identification of Shiri [Bibas]’s body, we are glad to see Omer Wenkert, Elia Cohen, Tal Shohem and Omer Shem Tov after 505 days, as well as Avera Mengistu after more than a decade, and soon, Hisham al-Sayed as well.

“They are all returning from the depths of hell to their beloved families, who fought with all their might to see them home.”

He calls on Israel to continue to a second phase of the deal.

“The completion of a hostage deal is a humane, moral and Jewish act. As we have heard from the testimonies of hostages who have returned in recent weeks — they are all in a ‘humanitarian’ condition that requires us to bring them back immediately.”

Hospital says it is prepared to give comprehensive care to Avera Mengistu

Freed Israeli hostage Avera Mengistu (wearing grey) exits a military helicopter as he arrives at the Ichilov hospital after being released from Gaza by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The Health Ministry says that Avera Mengistu has arrived at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.

The hospital says they will provide him with comprehensive medical care, including psychological support, and address all his needs.

Omer Shem Tov’s family, on seeing him upbeat at the handover ceremony: ‘That’s Omer. He gets on with everyone’

Omer Shem Tov, flanked by armed Hamas fighters, is freed in a Hamas propaganda ceremony in Nuseirat in central Gaza on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

Malki Shem Tov, father of Omer, says his son’s wide smile at the Hamas propaganda handover to the Red Cross encapsulates the returning hostage’s personality.

“Omer is thinner… but is upbeat, upbeat, the most positive-minded in the world,” Shem Tov tells Channel 12 in a video call from the rendezvous point as he awaits his son.

“We didn’t even know what he would look like. He just came out and surprised us all, with the smile, the wave — it’s just crazy,” he says.

After “505 days of worry, 505 days of fear and of missing him… our life’s mission is complete,” says the father. “The national mission is still incomplete, and everyone needs to be brought back home, but our personal mission is complete.”

Malki’s mother Sara, at a family gathering at their home in Herzliya, also says her grandson Omer’s smile is characteristic.

“That’s Omer,” she says… He’s just that kind of kid… He gets on with everyone. Even Hamas… They love him even there.”

Omer’s brother Amit says: “He’s always, always positive.”

Shem Tov was also directed to kiss two of the masked Hamas gunmen on the tops of their heads by the terror group’s cameramen, who were filming alongside the hostages and the gunmen at the carefully staged handover event.

Dana, Omer’s sister, says she has “no words” to describe how happy she is.

“It’s the happiest day of my life. You saw this whole time what we’ve said about Omer, and now you see who Omer is. I’m just waiting to get to the hospital and not let go.”

Three hostages in IDF hands, set to leave Gaza soon

Released hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert are now in the hands of IDF troops in the Gaza Strip, the military says.

The three released hostages will be brought out of the Strip to an army facility near the border community of Re’im for an initial checkup and to meet their loved ones.

Hamas is soon set to release a sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, but without a ceremony.

Hamas issues list of 602 Palestinian prisoners to be freed

Hamas’s prisoners’ media office and the Palestinian Prisoners Club publish lists of the 602 Palestinian prisoners slated for release today, including 50 serving life sentences.

Of those being freed, 445 were captured in the Gaza Strip after October 7 and are set to be released back into the enclave.

Nael Barghouti, the longest-serving Palestinian inmate in an Israeli prison, jailed in 1978 for killing a bus driver, is one of 47 Palestinian prisoners re-arrested following their release in the 2011 Gilad Shalit exchange, and one of 41 of them to be released. He will be deported abroad upon his release.

Six of the prisoners re-arrested after the Shalit exchange have refused to be deported abroad, Israel’s Army Radio reports. They will remain in prison, and six other prisoners will be freed in their place.

Tal Shoham and family airlifted to hospital

Released hostage Tal Shoham and members of his family are being airlifted by an Israeli Air Force helicopter from an army base near the Gaza border to a hospital in central Israel, the military says.

Shoham will receive medical care and meet the rest of his family there.

Uncle of Eliya Cohen: ‘Thank God, he looks much better than I had hoped’

Returning hostage Eliya Cohen’s uncle Kobi tells Channel 12, “Thank God, he looks much better than I had hoped.”

“On the face of it he seems to be in pretty good spirits,” says the uncle, as the family gathers in Modiin. “I want to hug him and kiss him and start the rehabilitation process already.”

Asked what the first thing he will say to Eliya is, he responds: “Blessed be the Creator who helped us, and welcome back to life.”

“We have to bring everyone back,” he says. “Everyone needs to feel what we are feeling.”

Video shows Avera Mengistu meeting family members

Released hostage Avera Mengistu meets members of his family at an IDF facility near the Gaza border, after 3,821 days in Hamas captivity, footage released by the military shows.

Mengistu has since been airlifted to a hospital in central Israel.

Released hostage Avera Mengistu meets members of his family at an IDF facility near the Gaza border, February 22, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert handed over to Red Cross

Eliya Cohen (L), Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert, flanked by armed fighters, wave on stage at a Hamas propaganda ceremony for their release in Gaza on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

Hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert are handed over to the Red Cross in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, with Hamas’s usual signing ceremony with the aid group.

They are brought on stage to receive certificates from the terrorists. The three look thin, but are on their feet and smiling and waving in the choreographed event. It is unknown whether this was coerced by Hamas.

Their families watching from Israel react with joy.

Hisham al-Sayed, the sixth hostage being freed today, will reportedly be handed over to the Red Cross at a third site, in Gaza City, without ceremony.

The IDF says the Red Cross has notified it that the released hostages were handed over to them. The Red Cross is now bringing them to IDF and Shin Bet forces inside Gaza to then be escorted out of the Strip, the military says.

“The IDF is prepared to receive an additional hostage who is due to be transferred to the Red Cross soon,” the IDF adds, referring to Hisham al-Sayed.

Omer Shem Tov, flanked by Hamas gunmen, is freed in Nuseirat in Gaza on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

Eliya Cohen, flanked by Hamas gunmen, is freed in Nuseirat in Gaza on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

Omer Wenkert, flanked by Hamas gunmen, is freed in Nuseirat in Gaza on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

Avera Mengistu and family airlifted to hospital

Released hostage Avera Mengistu and members of his family are being airlifted by an Israeli Air Force helicopter from an army base near the Gaza border to a hospital in central Israel, the military says.

Mengistu will receive medical care and meet the rest of his family there.

Red Cross at handover site in central Gaza

Red Cross cars are seen in central Gaza's Nuseirat to receive Israeli hostages, February 22, 2025 (Video screenshot)

Red Cross vehicles have arrived at the central Gaza handover site to receive hostages.

Iran parliamentary speaker to attend Nasrallah funeral — state media

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (2-L)) speaks with Lebanese counterpart in Beirut, Lebanon, October 12, 2024. (AFP)

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, will travel to Lebanon for the funeral of long-time Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday, Iranian media reports.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out in Beirut to farewell the Iran-backed terror group’s leader.

An Israeli airstrike killed Nasrallah on September 27 last year at the start of an all-out war between his group and Israel after roughly a year of lower-level conflict.

The massive airstrike on Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold also killed Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior commander in Iran’s Quds Force — the foreign operations arm of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Hezbollah is part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” a loose alliance of forces united in their dedication to destroying Israel.

Avera Mengistu seen in photo meeting IDF forces

Released hostage Avera Mengistu, who spent 3,821 days in Hamas captivity, is handed over to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip on February 22, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)

Released hostage Avera Mengistu, who spent 3,821 days in Hamas captivity, is seen meeting IDF troops in the Gaza Strip earlier this morning.

Source to Al Jazeera: Hisham al-Sayed to be released without ceremony

A source tells Al Jazeera that Hamas will release Hisham al-Sayed in Gaza City without a ceremony.

Al-Sayed, a Bedouin Israeli from the village of Hura in the Negev desert, entered the Strip on his own near the Erez Crossing in April 2015.

Red Cross en route to site in central Gaza to receive hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert

A convoy of Red Cross vehicles is set to arrive at a hostage handover site set up by Hamas in central Gaza’s Nuseirat in a few minutes, an Israeli defense official says.

Hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert are set to be released by Hamas there.

Hisham al-Sayed, the sixth hostage being freed today, will be handed over to the Red Cross at a third site, in Gaza City, according to the official.

Grandmother of Omer Shem Tov prepares food he loves for hospital

Returning hostage Omer Shem Tov’s grandmother Sara tells the Kan public broadcaster she has prepared stuffed vine leaves to take to the hospital where he will be treated.

Shem Tov was snatched from the Re’im-area Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, along with two friends, Itai and Mia Regev, who were released in the November 2023 truce-hostage deal. Itai Regev reported that Shem Tov said he missed his grandmother’s stuffed vine leaves, says Sara, at a gathering of Shem Tov’s family at his home in Herzliya.

Speaking to Channel 13, she says: “Praise God forever that we got Omer and will get him [back].”

“The suspense is huge,” she says.

She calls for all hostages to be released so their families “have the same joy we’re experiencing here.”

Shem Tov’s second grandmother Jacqueline tells the network she hopes he is healthy, “and we’ll receive him and be happy with him.”

“The thing I’m waiting most for is a big hug and kisses,” she says. “I’ve been waiting the whole time with prayers and faith.”

Video shows family of Tal Shoham reacting to his release

Relatives of hostage Tal Shoham watch his release by the Hamas terror group as they wait at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on February 22, 2025 (Haim Zach/GPO)

A video shows the family of hostage Tal Shoham reacting to his release.

Relatives of hostage Tal Shoham react to his release at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on February 22, 2025 (Omer Miron/GPO)

Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu arrive at IDF facility

Released hostages Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu have arrived at an IDF facility near the border community of Re’im after being escorted out of the Gaza Strip by troops.

The two hostages will undergo an initial physical and mental checkup at the army site and meet family members.

Hamas says ready to proceed to ceasefire’s second phase

Hamas says it is ready to proceed to the ceasefire agreement’s second phase, as the terror group pushes to accelerate the prisoner-hostage exchange process.

In a statement put out this morning, Hamas says it seeks a “comprehensive exchange process” that will lead to a “permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of the occupation.”

Hamas also accuses Israel of delaying its implementation of the ceasefire’s humanitarian provisions, and says Israel is barring the families of Palestinian prisoners slated for deportation from traveling from the West Bank to visit their relatives in Egypt.

Families express elation, concern as 4 hostages set to return

Top row, from left: Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen. Bottom row, from left: Avera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, Omer Wenkert (Courtesy)

The families of the four other returning hostages Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen and Hisham al-Sayed express relief, joy and worry at their loved ones’ return.

Shem Tov, Wenkert and Cohen were snatched from the Re’im-area Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. Al-Sayed has been held in Gaza since entering of his own accord in 2015.

Al-Sayed’s father Shaaban tells Channel 12 that “these are difficult hours. I’ll tell him about the other hostages — he may not know.” The father also offers condolences to the Bibas family following the return of the bodies of mother Shiri and her young sons Ariel and Kfir.

Cohen’s uncle Kobi tells Army Radio that the family is “unbelievably nervous, and praying that he’s well, but however he is — we’ll rehabilitate him.”

Dozens of Cohen’s friends celebrate his expected return at the Tel Aviv home of Ziv Abud, his girlfriend.

In Herzliya, dozens of Shem Tov’s friends gather to watch him come back. “He’s a golden boy,” Noya Itah tells Channel 13. “He so deserves to come back.” Friends raise a toast as Shem Tov’s release is expected any minute in central Gaza.

At Wenkert’s family home in Herzliya, friends were dancing. Asked what they would say on his return, one friend said: “Nothing. We’ll just hug him.”

Shoham family: ‘Unforgettable moment’; Mengistus: Prayers went unanswered until today

Relatives of hostage Tal Shoham watch his release by the Hamas terror group as they wait at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on February 22, 2025 (Haim Zach/GPO)

Tal Shoham’s family in an official statement says: “This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions mix rapidly. Our Tal is with us.

“We thank the entire people of Israel for being with us throughout the long days of pain and suffering… In this significant moment in our lives, our only request is to seize the opportunity that has arisen and bring about a deal that will return fathers to their children — children who need their fathers — and bring all the hostages home: the living for rehabilitation and the fallen for eternal rest.

“There is a window of opportunity — we must not miss it.”

Relatives of hostage Tal Shoham watch his release by the Hamas terror group as they wait at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on February 22, 2025 (Haim Zach/GPO)

Avera Mengistu’s family says: “Ten years and five months of unimaginable suffering have passed for our family. During this time, relentless efforts were made to bring him back — prayers and cries, some silent, that went unanswered until today.

“Now, we gather in eager anticipation for the return of our beloved son, brother, and uncle, Avera. We ask that these moments be respected and that we be given the quiet and rest we so desperately need.”

Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu back in Israel

Released hostages Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu have crossed the border into Israel, the IDF says.

Shoham was held for 505 days in Hamas captivity, while Mengistu was held for 3,821.

The two were escorted out of the Gaza Strip by Israeli special forces after being handed over to them by the Red Cross.

The IDF is bringing them to a facility near the border for an initial physical and mental checkup, and to meet with family members.

Families of Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham delighted at loved ones’ return

Hostages Tal Shoham (left) and Avera Mengistu, surrounded by armed fighters, stand on a stage in Rafah as they are released by the Hamas terror group in Rafah on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

With Avera Mengistu back in Israeli hands, his relative Gil Elias tells the Walla news site that the hostage’s return after 10 years “is a dream.”

“The day has come and we’re so excited,” he says. “Here he is, after years that we’ve been waiting for him. The first thing I’ll say to him is, ‘We’ve waited for you too long, I’m sorry.'”

The family of Tal Shoham was overjoyed to see both hostages on their feet, Walla reports.

The site cites his aunt Nora and uncles Ariel and Gadi as saying he “looks a little pale, a bit thin… he’ll recuperate. We’re a strong family.”

“We’re just waiting to hug [him], not question or bug him. Let him recover,” they say.

Banner in Nuseirat: ‘Bibi, don’t exert pressure again, calm down’

In Nuseirat in central Gaza, Hamas is preparing for the release of four more hostages.

A banner on stage quotes Israeli leaders’ assertion that “military pressure will bring back the hostages,” apparently mocking that claim.

Below the quote, it says: “Bibi, don’t exert pressure again, calm down.”

🔵 #MedioOriente Iniziato l'ultimo rilascio di ostaggi previsto dalla prima fase della tregua: a Rafah, Hamas ha consegnato alla Croce Rossa 2 dei 6 previsti oggi. Gli altri quattro, più tardi nel campo profughi di Nuseirat. Israele si è impegnata a scarcerare oltre 600 detenuti pic.twitter.com/DKDszyc36S

— Rai Radio1 (@Radio1Rai) February 22, 2025

Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu now in Israeli hands

Released hostages Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu are now in the hands of IDF troops in the Gaza Strip, the military says.

The two released hostages will be brought out of the Strip to an army facility near the border community of Re’im for an initial checkup and to meet family.

In the next hour or so, Hamas will be releasing hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert and Hisham al-Sayed from the Nuseirat area in central Gaza.

Red Cross en route to IDF forces in Gaza with hostages Shoham and Mengistu

Red Cross vehicles at the site of the handover of Israeli hostages in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

The IDF says the Red Cross has notified the military that released hostages Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu were handed over to them by Hamas.

The Red Cross is now bringing them to IDF and Shin Bet forces inside Gaza to then be escorted out of the Strip, the military adds.

Friend of Tal Shoham: ‘I don’t think there’s a greater joy’

Supporters of returning hostage Tal Soham gather at a restaurant in central Tel Aviv to watch his release.

Shoham, 40, was snatched from the home of his wife Adi’s parents in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, as Adi’s father and uncle were murdered. Adi and the couple’s young children Naveh and Yahel were released during the weeklong truce and hostage deal in November 2023.

Ofer Shemesh, a friend of Shoham’s, tells Kan there had been no information on the hostage since his abduction. He says Shoham’s release elicits “happiness and sadness, extreme feelings.”

“I want everyone to picture their best friend coming home,” he says. “I don’t think there’s a greater joy…It’s like a resurrection.”

Shemesh also asks to remember the Bibas family following the return of the bodies of mother Shiri and her young sons Ariel and Kfir, and the initial return of an unidentified Gazan woman instead of Shiri. “We’re completely shattered from what has happened,” he says Shemesh.

He also asks to remember slain hostage Tamir Adar, a classmate of Shoham’s. “Everyone has to return…everyone who’s left.”

Shoham’s wife Adi posted on social media a letter containing questions her children have asked about their father’s captivity. Chief among them: “When is Dad coming home?”

And others: “When dad comes home, will he be old?” “Are there other dads held hostage?”

Hostages Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham handed over to Red Cross by Hamas in Rafah

Hostages Tal Shoham (2nd L) and Avera Mengistu (R), surrounded by armed fighters, stand on a stage in Rafah as they are released by the Hamas terror group in Rafah on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

Hostages Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham emerge from Hamas cars in Rafah, looking thin and frail, but on their feet.

Shoham is seen for the first time since his capture on October 7, 2023.

Mengistu, outside a video from captivity a few years ago, is seen for the first time since 2014.

Hostage Tal Shoham, surrounded by armed fighters, stands on a stage in Rafah as he is released by the Hamas terror group in Rafah on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

The two hostages are handed over to the Red Cross after a brief propaganda ceremony.

Hostage Avera Mengistu, surrounded by armed fighters, stand on a stage in Rafah as he is released by the Hamas terror group in Rafah on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

Omer Shem Tov’s aunt: ‘The miracle has come’

Omer Shem Tov, taken captive in Gaza by Hamas terrorists on October 7, as they assaulted the Supernova desert rave. (Courtesy)

Returning hostage Omer Shem Tov’s aunt Liat tells Kan that “it’s an amazing morning because…”

Leading a crowd of supporters behind her in a chant, she continues: “Omer is coming home! Omer is coming home!”

“We feel that the miracle has come, we’re delighted and excited,” she says.

“I came from abroad last night to take part in this emotional day,” she says. “We’re all here hoping he comes out healthy and on his feet, just waiting to see [his parents] Shelly and Malki hugging Omer, and Omer hugging them.”

Israel issues list of 602 Palestinian prisoners it will free today

Israel has issued a list of the 602 Palestinian prisoners it is set to free following Hamas’s return of hostages today.

These will include 60 serving long sentences, 50 serving life sentences and 47 re-arrested after a 2011 exchange for captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

Over 100 will be deported upon their release.

Red Cross vehicles arrive at handover site in Rafah

Red Cross vehicles arrive at the site of the expected handover of Israeli hostages in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)

A convoy of Red Cross vehicles has arrived at the hostage handover location in Rafah, in southern Gaza.

Hostages Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu will be handed over to the Red Cross representatives in Rafah.

Relative of Avera Mengistu: Somehow the stars have aligned and he’s coming home

An undated video published by Hamas on January 16, 2023, purportedly of Israeli captive Avera Mengistu. (Screenshot)

Gil Elias, a relative of returning hostage Avera Mengistu and a long-time activist for his release, tells Channel 12 it is a “dream come true” that the 38-year-old is coming home.

Mengistu is expected to be among the first hostages to be released today. He has been in Hamas captivity for the past decade after crossing the border into Gaza of his own accord, apparently due to a mental illness.

“We’re all excited, waiting for the moment that Hamas hands him over to the Red Cross… and we can finally breathe a sigh of relief and know he’s arrived,” he says.

Elias says Mengistu’s brother Ilan and sister Alemneseh will greet him on return to Israel. Mengistu’s parents, who are observant, will not be at the border crossing due to Shabbat, he says.

The siblings are waiting with “mixed feelings,” says Elias.

“It’s hard to process that they’re going to see him after 10 years,” he says. “It’s really a miracle… somehow the stars have aligned and he’s coming home.”

At handover spot, Hamas displays weaponry it claims was stolen from Israel on Oct. 7

On the stage prepared by Hamas in Rafah are the usual placards with messages including “We are the flood,” as well as military weapons and equipment the group claims were stolen from the IDF on October 7, 2023.

The strap of one of the guns is branded with the word “Ravshatz,” the Hebrew acronym for the head of a community’s local security team, indicating it was taken from such an individual killed by terrorists during the October 7 attack.

مصادر صحفية: على منصة الإفراج.. أسلحة إسرائيلية لجنود الاحتلال اغتنمتها كتائب القــــسام في عملية طـــوفان الأقصى. pic.twitter.com/La5y6Z82b1

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) February 22, 2025

Red Cross heading to handover site in Rafah, expected to receive 2 hostages there

A convoy of Red Cross vehicles is now heading to a hostage handover site set up by Hamas in southern Gaza’s Rafah, an Israeli defense official says.

According to Al Jazeera, hostages Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu will be freed in Rafah, while the other four — Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert and Hisham al-Sayed — will be released later in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.

IDF expects 6 Israeli living hostages to be released at 2 Gaza locations from 9 a.m.

The IDF expects Hamas to release the six Israeli hostages from two separate locations in the Gaza Strip starting from 9 a.m., a defense official says.

Hamas will first release hostages from southern Gaza’s Rafah and afterward from Nuseirat in the Strip’s center.

The official says there could be delays.

The six hostages — Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — will be taken by the Red Cross to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.

From there, the troops will escort them to an army facility near Re’im for an initial checkup and to meet with family members before they are airlifted to Sourasky and Rabin hospitals in central Israel.

Al Jazeera reports that Shoham and Mengistu will be freed in Rafah, while the other four will be released in Nuseirat.

Hamas sets up stages in south, central Gaza ahead of expected handover of 6 living hostages

Top row, from left: Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen. Bottom row, from left: Avera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, Omer Wenkert (Courtesy)

The Hamas terror group has set up stages in southern Gaza’s Rafah and in the Nuseirat area in the Strip’s center for the handover today of six Israeli hostages.

As has been the case with previous hostage releases, the stages are plastered with propaganda posters.

Hamas is releasing hostages Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed this morning.

According to Hamas’s past statements, the six are the last of those to be returned under the first phase who are alive.

Al-Sayed and Mengistu have been captive in Gaza for over a decade, after entering the Strip of their own accord. The others were abducted on October 7, 2023.

"الأرض تعرف أهلها".. لافتة رفعتها المقاومة في مخيم النصيرات بقطاع #غزة أثناء استعدادات تسليم أسرى إسرائيليين ضمن الدفعة السابعة لاتفاق وقف إطلاق النار وتبادل الأسرى #صورة #حرب_غزة pic.twitter.com/28Pmj6QjHJ

— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) February 22, 2025

تغطية صحفية| بدء تجهيز مراسم الإفراج عن أسرى الاحتلال وتسليمهم للصليب الأحمر، في رفح جنوب قطاع غزة. pic.twitter.com/e2E9sC3YVb

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) February 22, 2025

Bibas family mourns Shiri after her body ID’d: We sought certainty ‘and now there’s no comfort in it’

The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. (Courtesy)

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum issues a statement on behalf of Shiri Bibas’s family, after her body was identified overnight by forensic specialists and her kibbutz announced she was murdered while held captive in Gaza.

The family says it held out hope that Bibas and her young sons Ariel and Kfir would return alive after being kidnapped by terrorists on October 7, 2023, having “requested certainty [about their fate] for 16 months, and now there’s no comfort in it.”

“Shiri was a wonderful mother to Ariel and Kfir, a loving partner to Yarden, a dedicated sister and aunt and incredible friend,” the family adds, saying details will soon be provided on the funeral and shiva.

“Thanks to everyone for your support and love these 16 months, we wish that Shiri could be here to see it.”

According to assessments by Israeli officials, Shiri was “brutally” murdered along with her two young boys in November 2023.

Kibbutz Nir Oz announces Shiri Bibas was murdered in Gaza captivity

Shiri Bibas (Courtesy)

Kibbutz Nir Oz releases a statement saying that resident Shiri Bibas was murdered in Gaza after being kidnapped with her young sons Ariel and Kfir during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.

There is no immediate response from Israeli authorities to the announcement, which comes after a body that Hamas claims is Bibas was brought to Israel for identification.

Bibas was supposed to be returned Thursday alongside the remains of her sons and fellow Nir Oz resident Oded Lifshitz, all three of whom authorities have said were murdered in captivity.

Trump pushes out top US general in major shakeup of military leadership

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, speaks during a hearing, May 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump announces he will replace the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown, and soon swap out five other high level positions in an unprecedented shakeup of the leadership of the US military.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, says he will nominate retired Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine to succeed Brown.

The decision sets off a period of upheaval at the Pentagon, which is already bracing for firings of civilian staff, a dramatic overhaul of its budget and a shift in US military deployments under Trump’s new America First foreign policy.

New York landmarks lit orange to honor Bibas children

New York State landmarks are illuminated orange in honor of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, New York Governor Kathy Hochul says.

“Our hearts are broken as we mourn Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were brutally murdered by Hamas in an act of callous and unthinkable cruelty,” Hochul says in a statement. “I join the millions around the world honoring their memory and demanding that Hamas immediately return the remains of Shiri Bibas home to Israel.”

Fourteen state landmarks will be illuminated tonight, including One World Trade Center, Niagara Falls, the Empire State Plaza in Albany, Moynihan Train Hall in New York City, and several bridges.

Red Cross says it transferred body received from Hamas to Israeli authorities

The Red Cross says it has handed over a body it collected from Hamas in the Gaza Strip this evening to Israeli authorities.

Hamas has claimed that the body belongs to hostage Shiri Bibas.

The IDF has not yet commented.

השיירה עם הארון שהועבר מהצלב האדום הגיעה לשטח ישראל@Itsik_zuarets pic.twitter.com/UQLEIuehb5

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 21, 2025

Residents of the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel line the highway where a police convoy passes by as it transports the remains for identification to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv.

The body’s arrival in Israel comes hours before Hamas is slated to free six hostages from Gaza, the last of those to be returned under the first phase of the hostage release and ceasefire deal who are alive.