After being led onto a stage by armed Hamas fighters on Saturday, Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, the first two captives, were handed over to the Red Cross in Rafah, southern Gaza.
In a separate ceremony, three more captives, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, and Omer Shem Tov, were later released to Red Cross officials in Nuseirat, central Gaza.
Palestinian sources told Al Jazeera that Hisham al-Sayed, the sixth captive, will be handed over to Israeli authorities without a ceremony.
The 37-year-old Bedouin Israeli, who was taken prisoner in Gaza in April 2015, is scheduled to be detained in a location in Gaza City’s northern region.
In the first stage of the ceasefire, which ended on January 19, the six are the last of a group of 33 to be freed.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Nuseirat, said a large crowd has gathered to witness the release of the three captives.
“We see reinforcements from the Qassam Brigades in order to maintain order and safety of the process”, he reported, referring to Hamas’s armed wing.  , “Compared with past handovers, the scene here at Nuseirat looks more organised”.
Our correspondent claimed that Hamas’s explanation of the plan’s insistence to release four captives in Nuseirat was in vain.
Professor Sami al-Arian from Istanbul Zaim University stated in an interview with Al Jazeera that Hamas is trying to show its allies that it is responsible by “showing the whole world that they were trying to keep them [the captives] alive and keep them safe. “
Later on Saturday, Israel is expected to release 602 Palestinians held in its jails. According to Hamas, there are 445 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli forces during its war on Gaza, as well as dozens who are currently serving lengthy or life sentences.
The misidentification of Shiri Bibas’ body in a report on Thursday as that of her husband and two young sons in the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire.
Source: Aljazeera
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