DayofPal– Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, released six Israeli captives early Saturday morning from two separate locations in Rafah, southern Gaza, and Nuseirat, in the central, and handed them over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The released Israeli captives identified as Avraham Mengistu, Tal Shoham, Ilia Maimon Isaac Cohen, Omar Shem Tov, Omer Fenkret, and Hisham Al-Sayed.
Al-Qassam Brigades established ceremonial stages in central Gaza’s Al-Nuseirat camp, where four prisoners were handed over. The remaining two were released in Rafah, where Al-Qassam fighters stood armed with seized Israeli military rifles.
Israeli captives Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert and Omer Shem Tov have appeared on stage at the handover location in Nuseirat.
They were smiling and gesturing to a cheering crowd of Palestinians. One of the captives kissed the forehead of a Palestinian fighter standing next to him.
The symbolic nature of the event was further reinforced by banners displayed at the handover sites. One striking poster bore the phrase: “We are the flood, we are the strength”, a direct message to Israel’s leadership that Gaza resistance is still powerful despite the sheer killing of its leaders.
“The crimson door of freedom is only knocked upon with every blood-stained hand” was one of the banners that the resistance in Gaza raised on the handover stage. It is a verse said by the late Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar in one of the videos, published by Al Jazeera’s the Tip of Iceberg program, while he appeared moving between his fighters near Israeli tanks in Rafah.
In the video, Sinwar recited a verse originally written by Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi; his verse means that every free citizen feels a deep sense of duty to their homeland, a duty that must be paid with their own blood, by fighting and defeating the enemies until regaining freedom.
Images of prominent Hamas leaders, including the late political chief Yahya Sinwar and military commander Mohammed Deif, also adorned the stage, alongside depictions of Hamas’ audacious infiltration into Israeli territories on October 7, 2024, as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
Notably, a significant quotation echoed throughout the ceremony: “We can change the course of history.” These words, attributed to Deif, served as a reminder of Hamas’ long-term strategic ambitions to free Palestine.
In Gaza City, Hamas released Hisham Al-Sayed, an Israeli held captive in Gaza since 2015, without a public ceremony, citing respect for his family in 1948-occupied Palestinian territories.
The handover of seven Israelis in exchange for 602 Palestinian detainees marked the seventh prisoner swap under the first phase of a broader prisoner exchange agreement facilitated by Egypt and Qatar, with support from the United States.
This meticulously negotiated ceasefire agreement was initiated on January 19, 2025. The deal, which includes three distinct phases, each spanning 42 days, was designed to de-escalate the raging war and facilitate a structured exchange of prisoners.
The initial phase, currently underway, focuses on negotiations to ensure the execution of the subsequent stages.
The latest exchange comes amid continued diplomatic maneuvering, with Egypt and Qatar playing key mediating roles.
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