The families of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed welcomed their loved ones home Saturday after both men spent a decade languishing in Hamas captivity. Their families expressed concern for the former hostages’ well-being, saying both men were barely communicating, and frustration that their release took so long.

Mengistu and al-Sayed were released as part of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. They were freed alongside Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen and Tal Shoham, all of whom were abducted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.

Mengistu and al-Sayed entered the Gaza Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively, amid mental distress. Reports following the October 7, 2023, massacre indicated that Hamas had lulled Israel into complacency by feigning serious interest in a deal for Mengistu and al-Sayed.

Mengistu was released along with Shoham from Rafah Saturday morning, while al-Sayed was set free in Gaza City shortly after the noon release of Wenkert, Shem Tov and Cohen in Nuseirat.

Mengistu, then 28, entered Gaza from the Zikim beach in September 2014. His family had not heard from him since his abduction until a Hamas video purporting to show him alive in early 2023. He spent 3,821 days in captivity.

In a statement via the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the family said it had endured “ten years and five months of unimaginable suffering” until the 38-year-old was released Saturday.

“During this time, there have been continuous efforts to secure his return, with prayers and pleas, some silent, that remained unanswered until today,” said the family.

As “our beloved son, brother and uncle Avera” returns, “we ask that these moments be respected and that we be granted the peace and rest we so desperately need,” the family said.

Photos released showed Mengistu reuniting and embracing family members at........

© The Times of Israel