NEWS HEADLINES: 6 Hostages Returned To Israel As Ceasefire Deal With Hamas Continues – One America News Network

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Released hostage Omer Wenkert reacts as he celebrates his release while being driven to Beilinson Hospital on February 22, 2025 in Petah Tikva, Israel. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Abril Elfi
9:05 AM – Saturday, February 22, 2025

Six more Israeli hostages have been released and reunited with their families.

On Saturday, Hamas freed six more Israeli hostages as a fragile ceasefire deal continues to hold.

The first two men released were Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39. They appeared frail and afraid on video footage as they were led to a stage in front of a crowd, flanked by masked gunmen. They were turned over to the Red Cross and were on their way to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Three more hostages, Omer Wenkert, 23, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Eliya Cohen, 27, were eventually released in the central town of Nuseirat. The three were put in Red Cross vehicles that then headed for Israel.

Lastly, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was also handed off to the Red Cross after nearly 10 years in Gaza, being kidnapped by Hamas in April of 2015.

“A short while ago, accompanied by IDF and ISA forces, the two returning hostages crossed the border into Israeli territory, and they are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will be reunited with members of their families,” the statement said after Shoham and Mengistu were freed earlier on Saturday.

“According to the information communicated by the Red Cross, three hostages were transferred to them, and they are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,” a later statement said, adding: “The IDF is prepared to receive an additional hostage who is due to be transferred to the Red Cross in the near future.”

Shoham’s family said in a statement that his release from Hamas captivity “is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together.”

“Our Tal is with us. We thank all the people of Israel who stood with us through all the long days of pain and suffering,” the statement said. “During these days, we need privacy for Tal, Adi, and the children. At this crucial moment in our lives, 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 – and return all hostages home: the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for eternal rest. There is a window of opportunity; we must not miss it.”

Mengistu’s family also released a statement saying they have “endured ten years and five months of unimaginable suffering.”

Two of the captives, Mengistu and Al-Sayed, are civilians who have been detained since entering Gaza on their own more than a decade ago.

Shoham was kidnapped on October 7^th, along with his wife, two children, mother-in-law, and two other family members, who were all released in November 2023.

One of the hostages released from Israel reportedly brought back a sign of life from Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, according to TPS-IL, an Israeli news agency. Gilboa-Dalal is not among the captives scheduled to be released during the current phase of the deal.