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Hamas Frees 5 More Israeli Hostages in Latest Exchange
Hindustan Times East UP
|February 23, 2025
Hamas freed the first five of six Israeli hostages due to be released on Saturday, even as heightened tension between the adversaries clouded the future of the fragile ceasefire deal.
GAZA STRIP:
The five were handed over to the Red Cross in two separate ceremonies in Gaza, brought out on stages by masked, armed Hamas fighters in front of hundreds of Palestinians.
In the central town of Nuseirat, three Israeli men in their 20s—Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen—were posed alongside the fighters. A beaming Omer Shem Tov blew kisses to the crowd, flashed the thumbs up, and even kissed the militant next to him on the head. Watching the release, Cohen's family and friends in Israel chanted "Eliya! Eliya! Eliya!" and cheered when they saw him for the first time. Shem Tov's grandmother ululated in joy, shrieking, "Omer, my joy! My life!" as she saw him.
This story is from the February 23, 2025 edition of Hindustan Times East UP.
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