Gaza, Feb. 22 -- Six Israeli hostages previously held by Hamas were released on Saturday as part of an ongoing ceasefire exchange, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed in a statement.

Two of the five hostages were transferred earlier on Saturday from a vehicle of al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, to vehicles of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Rafah, southern Gaza, which later carried them to the IDF and the Israel Security Agency, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources, Xinhua news agency reported.

The two are Avera Mengistu, 38, an Ethiopian-born Israeli man from Ashkelon, who crossed into Gaza in 2014 and had been held captive ever since, and Tal Shoham, 40, who was seized during the Hamas attack on...