Six Israeli hostages released in exchange for 602 Palestinian prisoners

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has handed over five hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross at two locations in the Gaza Strip as part of the seventh exchange under the January 19 ceasefire agreement.

Two hostages were released in Rafah in southern Gaza, namely Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, who was captured in 2014 under mysterious circumstances after entering Gaza.

Later, Hamas released three more Israeli hostages in Nuseirat in central Gaza, namely hostages Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem-Tov, and Omer Wenkert.

And recently the sixth hostage, Hisham Al-Sayed, was also released, writes AA, the Telegraph reports.

It is reported that Red Cross representatives signed an official transfer protocol with Al-Qassam.

The Israeli military confirmed the hostages' arrival, announcing that they are en route to Tel Aviv where they will undergo an initial medical evaluation.

In exchange for the six Israeli hostages, 602 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons will be released.

Otherwise, Hamas has declared that it is ready to move to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, reiterating that the completion of the hostage exchange depends on Israel's full compliance with the terms of the agreement.

The three-phase ceasefire reportedly came into effect last month, halting Israel's war, which has killed more than 48,000 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins. /Telegraph/