Hostage swap between Israel and Hamas in final stage!

The final round of the hostage swap between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will take place today. Hamas announced that it will release 6 Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire and hostage swap agreement reached with Israel. Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced that the hostages to be released in the 8th round of the exchange are Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem-Tov, Omer Wenkert, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed. The Israeli press reported that Mengistu and al-Sayed have been held in Gaza for over 10 years.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Press Office also announced that the names of the hostages to be released have been received and their families have been informed.

The Prisoners Media Office affiliated with Hamas announced that Israel will release a total of 602 Palestinians today. It was stated that 50 of these prisoners were serving life sentences, 60 were given heavy sentences, and 445 were from Gaza.

The ceasefire and hostage swap agreement reached on January 15 went into effect on January 19. In the first 42 days of the three-phase agreement, it was decided that 33 Israeli hostages and more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners would be released. During this process, Hamas handed over 22 Israeli hostages, 19 of whom were alive and 3 of whom were deceased. The Israeli administration announced that the bodies of 4 Israeli hostages will be received next week.

With today's final round, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement will be completed. It was reported that negotiations regarding the status of the remaining detainees and hostages between the parties are ongoing.

News Source: 12punto