Six hostages freed in seventh Israel-Hamas exchange
Six more hostages have been freed from Hamas captivity after more than 500 days. One of them also holds Romanian citizenship.
In exchange for their release, Israel will free over 600 Palestinian prisoners from its jails. This marks the seventh hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas over the past six weeks.
Omer Wenkert, a 23-year-old with dual Israeli and Romanian citizenship, was greeted by his loved ones with tears and shouts of joy. He had been held captive for 505 days. Omer suffers from an autoimmune disease, and his family feared that his captors had not given him the necessary medication. He was abducted from the "Nova" music festival, and his family identified him in a video posted on social media that day. In the video, he was seen in his underwear, tied to the back of a white truck, and beaten by militants heading towards Gaza. His mother told him he was a "victor," and his father recited a Jewish blessing, thanking God for bringing his son back home.
The family of Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov was overjoyed as he was reunited with his brother Amit and sister Dana after his release from captivity. Shem Tov, 22, was also abducted from the "Nova" music festival on October 7, 2023.
Israeli hostage Hisham al-Sayed was released after spending a decade in captivity. Sayed, 36, a Bedouin from the Negev desert, was kidnapped in 2015. According to his family, he suffers from mental health issues. For years, almost nothing was known about his condition until Hamas released videos showing Sayed lying in a bed with an oxygen mask in June 2022.
In total, six hostages were released in the seventh exchange—the last surviving captives from a group of 33, set to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which took effect on January 19. In exchange for these six hostages, Israel will free over 600 Palestinian prisoners from its jails.
Another 63 Israeli captives remain in Gaza, and it is feared that fewer than half are still alive.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
