Hamas terrorists freed the final six living hostages set to be released in phase one of the ongoing ceasefire deal, while forcing two other Israeli hostages to watch the macabre release ceremony in Gaza in an attempt to taunt Israel.

One hostage, Ehtiopian-Israeli Avera Mengistu, had been held for more than ten years, and his family said he was not communicating with them properly, despite appearing at first to be physically sound. Another hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, had also been held for ten years. He returned in a condition that his family described as shocking, with his father saying that it looked like he had been held in a torture camp for a decade. He decried the cruelty of Hamas.

The other four hostages, taken October 7, 2023, were Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, and Tal Shoham.

Meanwhile, two other hostages, Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, were held in a van nearby, forced to watch the ceremony that Hamas held to mark the release of the hostages and to produce propaganda lauding the organization.

They are not being freed until and unless “Phase 2” of the negotiations with Israel is successful. The shocking tactic is an attempt to pressure Israel psychologically as the negotiations begin, forcing Israel to make concessions.

Hamas wants Israel to agree to end the war, withdraw from Gaza completely, and let it rule Gaza again, if it is to let the remaining hostages go. Israel wants to destroy Hamas militarily, and prevent it from ever ruling Gaza again.

There are 66 Israeli hostages still in captivity in Gaza, at least half of whom are still thought to be alive.

On Friday night, Hamas sent the body of Shiri Bibas to Israel, after sending the wrong body the day before. After a delay, Israel released 602 convicted Palestinian terrorists in return for the release of the Israeli hostages on Saturday.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.