Hamas will be freeing six Israeli hostages on Saturday, in exchange for the liberation of hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, as tensions with Israel escalate in the West Bank.
The hostages include Tal Shoham, 40, Avera Mengistu, 38, Eliya Cohen, 27; Omer Shem Tov, 22; Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, and Omer Wenkert, 23, according to reports from the Associated Press.
Five of them have been released so far, with the sixth — Hesham al-Sayed — expected to be released later in the day.
The hostages have been held in captivity in the Gaza Strip by the militant group since its attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Their release comes amid a rapid escalation in tensions between Israel and Hamas, as violence in Tel Aviv and the West Bank threaten a fragile cease-fire deal in Gaza after almost 16 months of war.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to carry out an “intensive operation” in the West Bank after national police reported the explosion of three empty buses near Tel Aviv on Thursday.
After the explosions, Hamas released the remains of four dead Israeli hostages — but tensions escalated after it was revealed that the militant group had handed over the wrong body claimed to be the remains of Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother of two.
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