Duo freed by Hamas after a decade long captivity

The Star

39-year-old Avera Mengistu, 39, and Hisham Al-Sayed, 37, returned to their families in Israel on Feb 22 after being held hostages by Hamas for more than a decade.   They are among the six hostages released by Hamas as part of the Jan 19 Gaza ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:0039-year-old Avra Mengistu finally reunited with his family on Saturday after being abducted

00:08by Hamas for more than a decade.

00:10Mengistu, who is suffering from mental problems, crossed into Gaza in September 2014, where

00:17he was captured and interrogated by Hamas.

00:2037-year-old hostage Hisham al-Sayed, who also has a history of mental illness, also returned

00:26to his family under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and

00:31Hamas.

00:32Al-Sayed wandered into Gaza from the east in April 2015 and was detained by Hamas, which

00:38claimed that he was an Israeli soldier.

00:41The two are among the six hostages and the last living hostages from a group of 33 who

00:46were released by Hamas on Saturday.

00:49The other released hostages are Tal Shoham, who was abducted from Kibbutz Berri while

00:54visiting his wife's family, as well as Elia Cohen, Omer Shemtov and Omer Wenkert, who

01:00were taken from the Nova Music Festival site during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

01:08On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said they will delay the

01:13release of some 600 Palestinian prisoners who were due to be freed in exchange of the

01:18six hostages.

01:19They said the return of the prisoners will be delayed until the next release of their

01:24hostages is secured, without humiliating ceremonies.

01:28This came after Hamas returned the body of another hostage, Shiri Bibas, who Israel said

01:33was killed in November 2023.

01:37Hamas angered Israel when forensic specialists confirmed that the body released on Thursday

01:42was not that of Bibas.

01:44Hamas said her remains appeared to have been mixed with others from the rubble after an

01:49Israeli airstrike hit the place where she was held.

01:52Families of the Palestinian detainees are frustrated with Israel after a long wait in Ramallah.

02:20Hamas said Israel's decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement and a clear

02:26violation of the terms of agreement.

02:28They said the ceremonies do not include any insult to the hostages, but rather reflect

02:33the humane and dignified treatment of the hostages.

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