The first two hostages in Saturday's slated six-hostage release operation were transferred into Israel by Red Cross teams by mid-morning. Abera Mengistu, 39, and Tal Shoham, 40, were released under the same ceremonial atmosphere of the six hostage exchanges, with Hamas fighters in full fatigues accompanying the hostages on stage where documents acknowledging the exchange are signed by a member of the party and a member of the Red Cross.

While Tal Shoham was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, during Hamas' al-Aqsa Flood operation against southern Israel, Abera Mengistu, an Ethiopian-born Israeli, had wandered into Gaza on his own accord in September 2014. Mengistu's family has said that he struggles with mental health issues. He was kept hostage in Gaza for more than 10 years.

In addition to Shoham and Mengistu, Hamas had also released, by mid afternoon, Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Omer Wenkert, 23, who were taken during the Oct. 7 attack, as well as Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, a Bedouin Arab Israeli who also struggles with mental health issues and wandered into Gaza in 2015, where he had been hostage ever since.

These six are the last living hostages set to be released during the cease-fire's first stage, which ends on March 1. Negotiations for the second phase were significantly delayed but ultimately began on Tuesday in Qatar.

These six hostages are meant to be released in exchange for Israel freeing 602 Palestinians, including 50 who were given life sentences. One hundred and eight of those being released by Israel will be immediately expelled from the Palestinian territories, unable to return to their homes. Among them is Nael Barghouti, the longest-serving political prisoner in Palestine and, by some counts, the world, who spent nearly 45 years behind bars.

Late Saturday afternoon, after confirming it had received the six hostages released by Hamas, Israel reportedly informed the Palestinian Authority that it would delay the release of 602 Palestinians until "at least" the security consultations scheduled by Netanyahu for Saturday evening were concluded, if not later. So long as the exchange goes through, this will be the largest number of Palestinians freed at once under the current truce.

The fragile truce in the war between Israel and Hamas was at risk of being derailed by the misidentification of a body released on Thursday as that of Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped with her two small sons and her husband on Oct. 7. However late on Friday, Hamas handed over another body, which her family said had been confirmed to be hers.

But hopes of the cease-fire moving into its second phase have been clouded by disagreements over the future of Gaza that have been deepened by shock across the region over U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to clear the enclave of Palestinians and develop it as a Riviera-style resort under U.S. control.