Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Six living hostages are back home in Israel after Hamas released them in the seventh and final phase of the agreement as the handoff of 620 Palestinian prisoners was indefinitely delayed.
Early Sunday in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's said 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."
It would have been the largest prisoner release with 1,135 total in the six other handoffs since the cease-fire began Jan. 25.
Hamas has turned over all 25 living Israeli hostages for the first phase with four more bodies slated to be released Thursday in exchange for more prisoners.
Hamas and its allies continue to hold 63 Israeli hostages in Gaza. At least 32 of those are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli government. Hadar Goldin, a soldier, has been held since 2014.
Netanyahu said in a statement posted on X in Hebrew that "their return is a moment of joy and relief for their families and for the entire people of Israel."
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the freed hostages "return from the depths of hell to begin the process of healing and recovery alongside their loving families, who fought with all their strength for them."
He said the "completion of a hostage deal is a humanitarian, moral and Jewish imperative."
Hostage details
Two hostages were captured about a decade ago and the others were taken during the attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israeli Public Broadcasting reported those four kidnapped suffered "torture, physical violence, psychological torment and extreme starving" throughout their 16 months in captivity.
The hostages released Saturday were in stages, and they received medical assessments before being reunited with their families.
Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, were first turned over to Red Cross officials in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Shoham was kidnapped from kibbutz Be'eri with his two children, his wife and mother-in-law, all of whom were released in November 2023. Mengistu, who is an Israeli from Ashkelon, crossed into Gaza in 2014 and was captured.
Shoam's family said: "This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together. Our Tal is with us."
A video showed Mengistu meeting family members upon arrival at Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv. He was captive for 3,821 days.
His family said: "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."
Then, in a separate location in Nuseirat, central Gaza, three hostages, Eliya Cohen, 27; Omer Shem Tov, 22; and Omer Wenkert, 23, were released. Thousands, including Hamas fighters, gathered. Children appeared on the stage wearing shirts with photographs of killed Hamas leaders.
They were kidnapped at the Nova music festival near the border with Gaza. Though they were thin, their condition conditions were better than previously freed hostages.
Wenkert was seen in video footage reuniting with his parents, Niva and Shai, at an Israeli Defenses Force facility near the Gaza border, after 505 days in Hamas captivity.
Wenkert said "I've waited 500 days for this cigarette" in his first request.
Shem Tov blew a kiss toward the crowd. His family said "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.
"We will continue to fight together with all the families and the Hostages Families Forum, Our lives are intertwined until everyone returns."
Cohen's family members said they are "overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude.
"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," the family said. "Finally, Eliya can be surrounded by his loved ones, his family, and his girlfriend, and begin a new path."
Hisham al-Sayed, 37, an Arab-Israeli from a Bedouin community in southern Israel who walked into Gaza in 2015, went to the Red Cross in Gaza City. He was released without a ceremony.
The family of Al-Sayad, who spent more than 3,600 days in captivity, said: "After nearly a decade of fighting for his return, the long-awaited moment has finally arrived." But Sha'ban al-Sayed said he was "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. We didn't think that Hamas would be so cruel."
Netanyahu said, according to his office: "I promised you that we would return him and we turned the world upside down. Now we will do what is necessary to receive him well and take care of him."
Prisoner details
Hamas criticized Israel for delaying the release of prisoners.
"While Hamas responded to the efforts of mediator to make the exchange process a success, war criminal Netanyahu continues to procrastinate and delay the release of prisoners," Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif Al-Qanou said in a statement before Netanyahyu announcement.
Israel informed Palestinian officials in the West Bank that the release would be pushed back after Netanyahu finished security consultations regarding the return of the remaining Israeli hostages.
Of the 620 prisoners and detainees, 151 had life or long sentences, and 445 were detained since the war, according to the Palestinians Prisoners Office.
More than 100 Palestinian women and children under the age of 19 were to be released
Palestinians waited under heavy rain in front of Gaza's European Hospital in Khan Younis since the morning. Then later some slept in the hospital corridors.
Second phase
With the cease-fire to end Saturday, the situation is uncertain after Netanyahy's decision.
The second phase could include Hamas releasing remaining Israeli hostages, alive and dead, in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Before the announcement, Hamas said In a statement it seeks a "comprehensive exchange process" that will lead to a "permanent cease-fire and complete withdrawal of the occupation."
Netanyahu said 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."
But Alon Pinkas, former ambassador and consul general of Israel in New York, told Al Jazeera, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "is not interested in phase two. This phase will include Israeli force reduction in Gaza on day 42, which is a week from now. On day 50, it includes not just a force reduction, but a withdrawal.
"Politically, he can afford neither the withdrawal nor the official end of the war."
Remains returned Friday night
On Friday night, the remains of another hostage, Shiri Bibas, arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday night after an outcry over Hamas having released the wrong body.
Bibas' remains were to be among those of four hostages returned by Hamas on Thursday, alongside her sons, Kfir and Ariel, and another captive, Oded Lifshitz.
But forensic tests by Israeli authorities confirmed those remains were two boys and Lifshitz, the fourth body was not that of Shiri Bibas -- and nor did it match that of any other Israeli hostage.
"Last night, our Shiri was brought home. After the identification process at the Institute for Forensic Medicine, we received the news this morning that we had feared: our Shiri was murdered in captivity," said a statement from her family provided by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Saturday.
Netanyahu said "we will not forget and will not forgive" the murders of the three members of the Bibas family.
