Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, and Eliya Cohen arrived safely with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), according to reports from Israel’s N12 on February 22.

The three men were released following a hostage exchange ceremony conducted by Hamas in Nuseirat, which would exchange 1,100 Palestinians in exchange for the three men. Their release forms part of the six hostages scheduled for return in the latest stage of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire agreement, IntelliNews learned.

The three hostages' release follows the earlier handover of Tal Shoham and Ebra Mengistu, the latter who had been held for a decade in Gaza.

“According to information provided by the Red Cross, two abductees have been transferred to it and are making their way to the IDF and Shin Bet forces in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF and Shin Bet confirmed in a public statement concerning Shoham and Mengistu.

Local media reported that Shoham was seen walking with a slight limp during the transfer, having been shot in the leg during his 505 days in captivity after being kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri. Mengistu's release ends 3,821 days of captivity.

Shem Tov, Wenkert, and Cohen were abducted from the Supernova Music Festival on October 7, 2023. Wenkert, 22, suffers from an autoimmune disease, raising concerns among family members about medication access during captivity.

Cohen, 26, was attending the festival with his partner Ziv, who survived by hiding under deceased victims for six hours while Cohen was taken.

The releases coincide with a new forensic update regarding the deaths of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the two youngest captives of Hamas in Gaza.

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari stated, “The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys—they killed them with their bare hands. Afterwards, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities,” as quoted by The Jerusalem Post.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, the IDF reported on February 21 that Hamas violated the agreement by substituting an unidentified female body instead of returning Shiri Bibas, the children’s mother, as promised.

However, on the morning of February 22, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum announced that Shiri Bibas's remains were subsequently returned to Israel the previous night, with the L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir confirming the identification after extensive testing.

The final remaining hostage to be released on the same day is Arab-Israeli Hisham Al-Sayed, set to be released separately in Gaza City without a ceremony due to his medical condition.

Palestinian Quds News reported that as part of the agreement, four journalists, including Mohammed Imad Al Sultan, Kheder Abdel Aal, Bahaa Al-Ghoul, and Hamza Radwan, the agency, reported.

The agency noted as part of the exchange swap, 24 children and women will also be released by Israel as part of the exchange sheet, including Susan Abu Agha and 15-year-old Abdel Rami Fattah, according to the released lists.