Last-minute change of plans for release of sixth captive
There seems to be a last-minute change of plans on the release of the captives.
When we arrived here in the morning to check with the people on the ground, including Hamas commanders, they confirmed that four people would be released in Nuseirat.
But it is now confirmed that three will be released from the refugee camp and a fourth from Gaza City without any ceremony or any of the scenes that we are watching in Nuseirat.
It looks like the handover in Gaza City is going to be quiet with the public handover ceremonies only taking place in Rafah and Nuseirat.
Footage shows handover of Israeli captive Hisham al-Sayed in Gaza City
A footage shared by our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic shows a handover of the sixth Israeli captive, Hisham al-Sayed, by the armed wing of Hamas, Qassam Brigades, to the Red Cross in Gaza City.
In the video, we see a convoy of Red Cross vehicles parked in a street amid damaged buildings, a small number of Palestinian fighter standing in the street, a couple of female Red Cross officials approaching a vehicle parked on the other side of the street, a man emerging from that vehicle and walking over to the Red Cross convoy together with the Red Cross officials.
Hisham al-Sayed was last seen in a video recording broadcast by Qassam Brigades on June 28, 2022, during which the armed wing of Hamas announced “a deterioration in the health of one of the enemy’s prisoners” before publishing for the first time scenes documenting his health condition.
The Israeli captive’s family hails from the little-known village of al-Sayed in Negev, where he grew up in a Bedouin community that has been marginalised for decades by Israeli policies.
He was captured on April 20, 2015, after infiltrating the Gaza Strip through a breach in the security fence.
His family has claimed in media statements that he suffers from mental illness and that his health condition was deteriorating before he was captured. They have denied that he was associated with any Israeli military service.
The final captive released in Gaza City, al-Sayed, has arrived at the initial reception point in southern Israel, according to the Israeli military.
He will undergo an initial medical assessment and be reunited with his family, the statement published on Telegram said.
