In the latest hostage exchange under the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, six Israeli hostages were released on Saturday, including three men captured from the Nova music festival during the October 7, 2023 attacks.

The first two hostages released were Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38. They were handed over to Red Cross vehicles in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli, had been held in Gaza since entering on his own in 2014, while Shoham was captured during the October 7 attack while visiting family in Kibbutz Be'eri.

In a second ceremony in the central town of Nuseirat, three more hostages were released: Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen. The three young men had been abducted from the Nova music festival during the October 7 attacks.

The sixth and final hostage released was identified as Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, a Bedouin Israeli who had crossed into Gaza in 2015 and had been held since. His family has reported he was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia.

In exchange for the hostages, more than 600 Palestinians jailed in Israel will be freed. The Palestinian prisoners set for release include 50 serving life sentences, 60 with long sentences, 47 who were released under a previous exchange, and 445 Palestinians arrested since the war began.

The exchange comes amid heightened tensions after a dispute over the remains of Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother whose body was initially misidentified when Hamas handed over remains on Thursday. The family confirmed Saturday morning that a second body provided by militants was indeed Bibas.

Hamas has said it will release four more bodies next week, completing the first phase of the ceasefire. If that plan is carried out, Hamas would retain about 60 hostages, about half of whom are believed to be alive. The militant group has stated it won't release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.