Gaza: The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has released six more Israeli prisoners in the seventh round of prisoner swap with Israel as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Hamas handed over the Israelis to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in two separate ceremonies held in the besieged Palestinian territory on Saturday.
According to Islamic Republic News Agency, during the first handover, two Israeli prisoners, Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, were placed into ICRC vehicles after being brought out onto a stage by Hamas fighters in front of a crowd in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. A banner with the slogan "We are the flood, we are the extreme strength" was seen at the exchange site. A few hours later, Red Cross vehicles arrived in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza for the next handover.
Hamas had earlier confirmed that it would release the six Israeli prisoners, Elia Maimon Yitzhak Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Finkert, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed, in exchange for 602 Palestinians languishing in Israeli prisons. Israeli officials announced the names of the Palestinians scheduled to be released under the exchange deal clinched in mid-January.
According to the Hamas Media Office, those who would be freed on Saturday include 50 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment, 60 with long sentences, and 47 others, as well as 445 Palestinians abducted from the Gaza Strip after October 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, the body of Israeli prisoner Shiri Bibas returned to the occupied territories after Israel accused Hamas of handing over the wrong body. Hamas claims Bibas was killed in the regime's incessant bombing and shelling campaign in Gaza. The Bibas family confirmed Saturday morning that the human remains returned from Gaza on Friday have been identified as those of 32-year-old Shiri based on forensic testing. An ICRC spokesperson reported that a team received human remains from the Palestinian Mujahedeen Brigades, a small group in Gaza, which were then transferred to Israeli authorities.
The issue sparked tensions between Hamas and Israel that clouded the future of the fragile ceasefire deal after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to take 'revenge' for what he called a "cruel violation" of the ceasefire.
In a statement on Saturday, Hamas underlined its readiness for the next phase of the deal, adding that the latest swap once again confirmed the resistance group's commitment to the agreement while Netanyahu continues to stall in implementing the terms. Hamas further stated that it is prepared to finalize a comprehensive exchange deal that ensures a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of the occupation.