Hostages Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu back in Israel after release by Hamas

Shoham and Mengistu looked frail and thin at handover at Rafah. Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert and Hisham al-Sayed set to be released in Nuseirat, reports Times of Israel (ToI)

Released hostages Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu have crossed the border into Israel, the IDF has said.

Shoham was held for 505 days in Hamas captivity, while Mengistu was held for 3,821.

The two were escorted out of the Gaza Strip by Israeli special forces after being handed over to them by the Red Cross.

The IDF took them to a facility near the border for an initial physical and mental checkup, and to meet with family members.

Mengistu was born in Ethiopia in 1986 and immigrated to Israel at the age of five as part of Operation Solomon. Since 2014, he had been held captive by Hamas after crossing the border into Gaza, more than 10 years ago.

Shoham family: ‘Unforgettable moment’

Tal Shoham’s family in an official statement says: “This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions mix rapidly. Our Tal is with us.

“We thank the entire people of Israel for being with us throughout the long days of pain and suffering… In this significant moment in our lives, our only request is to seize the opportunity that has arisen and bring about a deal that will return fathers to their children — children who need their fathers — and bring all the hostages home: the living for rehabilitation and the fallen for eternal rest.

“There is a window of opportunity — we must not miss it.”

Mengistu Family: Prayers went unanswered until today…

Avera Mengistu’s family says: “Ten years and five months of unimaginable suffering have passed for our family. During this time, relentless efforts were made to bring him back — prayers and cries, some silent, that went unanswered until today.

“Now, we gather in eager anticipation for the return of our beloved son, brother, and uncle, Avera. We ask that these moments be respected and that we be given the quiet and rest we so desperately need.”

The families of the four other returning hostages Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen and Hisham al-Sayed express relief, joy and worry at their loved ones’ return.

Shem Tov, Wenkert and Cohen were snatched from the Re’im-area Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. Al-Sayed has been held in Gaza since entering of his own accord in 2015.

Al-Sayed’s father Shaaban tells Channel 12 that “these are difficult hours. I’ll tell him about the other hostages — he may not know.” The father also offers condolences to the Bibas family following the return of the bodies of mother Shiri and her young sons Ariel and Kfir.

Cohen’s uncle Kobi tells Army Radio that the family is “unbelievably nervous, and praying that he’s well, but however he is — we’ll rehabilitate him.”

Dozens of Cohen’s friends celebrate his expected return at the Tel Aviv home of Ziv Abud, his girlfriend.

In Herzliya, dozens of Shem Tov’s friends gather to watch him come back. “He’s a golden boy,” Noya Itah tells Channel 13. “He so deserves to come back.” Friends raise a toast as Shem Tov’s release is expected any minute in central Gaza.

At Wenkert’s family home in Herzliya, friends were dancing. Asked what they would say on his return, one friend said: “Nothing. We’ll just hug him.”