<\/p>\n
Hamas on Saturday released three Israeli hostages in the fourth exchange of the ceasefire deal, ahead of the expected release of 183 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.<\/p>\n
Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas were paraded on stage before being released to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, while US-Israeli Keith Siegel was freed in a similar ceremony at Gaza City\u2019s port in the north.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s military later confirmed that all three were back in Israel.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum hailed the release as \u201ca ray of light in the darkness\u201d.<\/p>\n
Franco-Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon\u2019s uncle Shemi told AFP: \u201cWe have waited for this moment for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that this is a sign of the rebirth of the people of Israel, not just of Ofer, not just of the hostages but of the people of Israel,\u201d he said, overcome with emotion.<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron said on X he shared the \u201crelief and joy\u201d of Kalderon\u2019s family and friends \u201cafter 483 days of unimaginable hell\u201d.<\/p>\n
After keeping them hostage for more than 15 months, militants in Gaza began releasing captives on January 19, under the first phase of a ceasefire with Israel.<\/p>\n
In Khan Yunis on Saturday, Bibas, 35, the father of the two youngest hostages, looked straight ahead before waving, apparently after instructions from a Hamas fighter.<\/p>\n
Kalderon, 54 \u2014 seized along with his son Erez, 12, and daughter Sahar, 16, who were released in a first truce in November 2023 \u2014 wore a military-green tracksuit and also waved before joining the Red Cross officials.<\/p>\n
An assault rifle, apparently captured from Israeli forces during the fighting in Gaza, had been placed on the table where Red Cross workers exchanged paperwork with a Hamas official.<\/p>\n
Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have so far handed over 18 hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them women and minors.<\/p>\n
Later Saturday, Israel will free 183 prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoners\u2019 Club advocacy group said.<\/p>\n
During their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which started the Gaza war, militants abducted Siegel from the Kfar Aza kibbutz community, and Bibas and Kalderon from kibbutz Nir Oz.<\/p>\n
Militants took a total of 251 people hostage that day. Of those, 76 remain in Gaza, including at least 34 the military says are dead.<\/p>\n
Those seized include Bibas\u2019s wife Shiri and two children, whom Hamas has declared dead, although Israeli officials have not confirmed that.<\/p>\n
Bibas\u2019s sons \u2014 Kfir, the youngest hostage whose second birthday was earlier this month, and his older brother Ariel whose fifth birthday was in August \u2014 have become symbols of the hostages\u2019 ordeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Yarden is supposed to return tomorrow and we are so excited but Shiri and the children still haven\u2019t returned,\u201d the Bibas family said on Instagram Friday. \u201cWe have such mixed emotions and we are facing extremely complex days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hundreds, including France\u2019s ambassador to Israel, had gathered in Tel Aviv\u2019s \u201cHostage Square\u201d, in anticipation of the live broadcast of the latest hostage releases.<\/p>\n
Ahead of both exchanges in Khan Yunis Gaza and Gaza City, scores of masked Hamas fighters stood sentry, apparently to control onlookers.<\/p>\n
In contrast to Thursday\u2019s frenzied exchange which drew Israeli condemnation, large crowds were mostly absent.<\/p>\n
Ranks of heavily armed Hamas fighters held portraits of the group\u2019s slain leaders, including military chief Mohammed Deif, accused by Israel of being a mastermind of the October 7 attack and whose death Hamas confirmed on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The arrangements for hostage handovers in Gaza have sometimes been chaotic, particularly Thursday\u2019s release in Khan Yunis.<\/p>\n
Israel briefly delayed Thursday\u2019s prisoner release in protest, and the ICRC urged all parties to improve security.<\/p>\n
After Saturday\u2019s hostage release, Gaza\u2019s key Rafah border crossing with Egypt is expected to reopen, a Hamas official and a source with knowledge of discussions told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mediators informed Hamas of Israel\u2019s approval to open Rafah crossing tomorrow, Saturday, after the completion of the fourth batch of prisoner exchange,\u201d the Hamas official said.<\/p>\n
Rafah was a vital Gaza aid entry point before the Israeli military seized the Palestinian side of the crossing in May.<\/p>\n
The EU\u2019s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Friday the bloc has deployed a monitoring mission at the crossing \u201cto support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Israel released 110 inmates from Ofer prison, including high-profile former militant commander Zakaria Zubeidi, 49, who received a hero\u2019s welcome in the West Bank city of Ramallah.<\/p>\n
On Friday, he called for \u201call our Palestinian people\u201d to be freed from Israeli jails.<\/p>\n
The fragile ceasefire\u2019s 42-day first phase hinges on the release of a total of 33 hostages in exchange for around 1,900 people, mostly Palestinians, in Israeli jails.<\/p>\n
Negotiations for a second phase of the deal are set to start on Monday, according to a timeline provided by an Israeli official.<\/p>\n
This phase is expected to cover the release of the remaining captives and to include discussions on a more permanent end to the war.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Rephrase in a different way as if you were a native American speaker as a content creation expert and do not talk about yourself or your experience in the text and do not show yourself as an artificial intelligence who wrote and fill the bullet point in the topic and speak the heart of the topic itself and dont take date of blog in ther first and dont take text like box of newsliter subscribe on post from content and romove all linke insert in content and and remove all affiliate disclosure phrases on content like this “This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links that allow us to earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more info” and “#” put in its place bullet point, and romove name of the web site or his links we are take a content from our new creation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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