Israel postpones release of Palestinian prisoners in latest swap

GAZA/JERUSALEM -- The Israeli government has postponed the release of 602 Palestinian prisoners agreed as part of the latest hostage-prisoner swap, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Saturday evening.

According to Palestinian sources, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has informed officials in the West Bank that the release of the prisoners will be delayed until 8:00 pm local time (1800 GMT).

Meanwhile, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, citing a political official, reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to postpone the release until concluding security consultations scheduled for the evening.

"The prime minister will hold security consultations this evening as part of efforts to ensure the return of all prisoners — whether alive or dead," the official said, without specifying the reason for the delay or a new timeline for the release.

Earlier on Saturday, as agreed in the latest swap, six Israeli hostages previously held by Hamas were transferred from Gaza to Israeli authorities in three batches and crossed the border into Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed.

In the first batch, two hostages were transferred from a vehicle of al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, to vehicles of the ICRC in Rafah, southern Gaza, which later carried them to the IDF and the Israel Security Agency, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources.

The two are Avera Mengistu, 38, an Ethiopian-born Israeli man from Ashkelon, who crossed into Gaza in 2014 and had been held captive ever since, and Tal Shoham, 40, who was seized during the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

In the second batch, three Israeli hostages were handed over by Hamas to the Israeli authorities via the ICRC in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Palestinian sources.

The three -- Omer Shem-Tov, 22, Eliya Cohen, 27, and Omer Wenkert, 23 -- were also seized during the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Another Israeli hostage, 37-year-old Hisham al-Sayed, was released in central Gaza without an official ceremony later on Saturday, said a source within the al-Qassam Brigades.

The Israeli military said al-Sayed had been held by Hamas for almost 10 years.

The latest hostage-prisoner swap is the final one where Hamas handed over living hostages under the first phase of the agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The first phase, effective since Jan. 19, is set to conclude next week when Hamas is expected to finish the release of 33 Israeli hostages -- 25 living ones and eight dead -- in exchange for over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners.