These 6 Hostages Will Be Released on Saturday, Families Announce; Hamas Didn't Return Shiri Bibas as Claimed

The families of six hostages, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Hisham al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu have announced that their loved ones will be returned on Saturday, February 22.  

The family of Hisham al-Sayed stated, “Our Hisham will return home after 3,595 days, which is nearly a decade of waiting. The news of his expected return brings joy, but it will not be complete until all the hostages return home. The agreement must not stop here, and no other hostages should face a decade in captivity.”  

According to reports, Hamas is interested in releasing six living hostages as early as Saturday to ensure the release of 47 terrorists, who were released in the deal to free captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit and were reincarcerated, out of concern that a delay may prevent their release.  

Meanwhile, the Chief Rabbi of the IDF, Brigadier General Eyal Krim read Psalm 83 yesterday over the caskets of the four supposedly deceased hostages in the territory of the Gaza Strip, upon their return from Hamas.

According to Hamas, they were Shiri Bibas, her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz. However, it was later found that Shiri Bibas was not in the fourth coffin.

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon accuses Hamas of returning an unidentified body instead of the body of the mother of two murdered boys, “as if it were a worthless shipment.” 

“This is a new low, an evil and cruelty with no parallel,” he says in a statement. “There are no words that can describe such an atrocity,” Danon says. 

“Hamas not only murdered Ariel and Kfir Bibas in cold blood – a 4-year-old boy and a 10-month-old baby – but continue to violate every basic moral value even after their death.” (INN/VFI News)

“Dear Lord, we pray that You hold the families of the deceased hostages close and that You provide comfort and peace to them, which surpasses all understanding. We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and pray for their mental well-being. We pray for Shiri Bibas to be returned immediately so that her family can grieve properly. We thank You for revealing this deception and we pray that the whole world sees Hamas for who they are. We also thank You for ensuring that all the hostages get released quickly and returned to their families in Yeshua’s name.”