Hamas releases 5 Israeli hostages as part of first phase of Gaza ceasefire
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Hashim Sheikh - . February 22, 2025
- . Update: February 22, 2025 6:26 pm
Hamas has released 5 Israeli hostages from Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the final exchange under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. The sixth hostage shall be released to Israeli authorities soon.
The six people are the last from a group of 33 hostages to be freed in the first stage of the Gaza ceasefire – took effect on January 19. Later today, Israel is expected to release 602 Palestinians held in its jails.
This figure includes 445 people detained by Israeli forces during the recent conflict and many others sentenced to lengthy jail terms, according to Hamas. The six people are the last living hostages to be released under the first phase of the deal.
On Thursday, Hamas released four bodies. It said one of the remains belonged to Shiri Bibas. But Israeli authorities later said that the body did not belong to Bibas. On Friday, Hamas released more remains and they have been confirmed as belonging to Bibas.
