Two of the captives had been in the hands of Hamas for about 10 years. The rest were taken during the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

More than 600 Palestinians jailed in Israel will be freed in exchange, the Palestinian prisoners media office said Friday. They include 50 serving life sentences, 60 with long sentences, 47 who were released under a previous hostage-for-prisoner exchange and 445 Palestinians who were seized by Israeli troops in Gaza since the war began.

Among the six hostages freed by Hamas on Saturday in return for Palestinian prisoners were an Israeli Bedouin and an Ethiopian-born man who had been in Gaza for years before the October 7, 2023 attack,