Hamas names six Israeli captives to be released Saturday

CAIRO – 21 February 2025: Hamas Movement announced on Friday that names of the would-be released Israeli captives on Saturday in return for releasing Palestinian prisoners, as part of the Prisoner Swap deal between the Movement and Israel.

Martyr Izz El-Din Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida announced the six names of the Israeli captives who will be handed over to a Red Cross team on Saturday. The names are as follow:

1- Elijah Maimon Yitzhak Cohen
2- Omar Shem Tov
3- Omer Finkert
4- Tal Shoham
5- Avera Mengistu
6- Hisham Al-Sayed 

The movement also issued another statement announcing that, following the Palestinian resistance's submission of the names of the Zionist captives, 50 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, 60 prisoners with long sentences, 47 prisoners from the Wafa al-Ahrar group who were re-arrested, and 445 prisoners from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after October 7 will be released tomorrow, Saturday, as part of the first phase of the exchange deal, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Media Office.

These captives are the last living prisoners set to be freed during the first phase of the ceasefire in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Among the captives scheduled for release on Saturday are Hisham Al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, according to head of Hamas Khalil Al-Hayya's comments on Wednesday. They were captured in 2014 and 2015 after crossing into Gaza.

In return, a total of 800 Palestinian prisoners will be released as part of the deal on Saturday. The would-be released Palestinians inmates will include 445 prisoners from the Gaza Strip, who were arrested after October 7, 2023, 110 prisoners serving life sentences or long-term sentences, and 47 prisoners who were released in the 2011 Shalit deal and then re-arrested. Also, the Palestinian prisoners will include 200 women and children under the age of 19  from Gaza, who were arrested during the war.

Additionally, senior leaders of the Qassam Brigades in the West Bank, most notably Abdel Nasser Issa, Othman Bilal, and Ammar Al-Zaben, will be among the would-be released prisoners.

Yestersday, Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli captives, including Bibas family (two young boys and their mother), as part of the ceasefire agreement between the movement and Israel after tireless efforts of mediation from Egypt, Qatar, and the US.