Hamas freed three hostages in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth round of exchanges during the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The six-week phase one truce calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners, as well as the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory.
Israel and Hamas are set next week to begin negotiating a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for releasing the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.
Palestinian health authorities in Gaza also announced that the long-shuttered Rafah border crossing with Egypt would reopen on Saturday for thousands of Palestinians who desperately need medical care — a breakthrough that signals the ceasefire agreement continues to gain traction.
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Here's the latest:
Released hostage thanks the Israeli people for their support
JERUSALEM - Israel’s military published a photo of recently freed hostage Yarden Bibas in a military helicopter shortly after his release Saturday, holding a sign thanking Israelis for their support.
“I thank all the people of Israel for the support and help. I’ve heard from my family that you fought for me,” read the message Bibas held up to the camera.
Bibas, 35, returns to Israel without his wife, Shiri Bibas, or his two boys, Kfir and Ariel, who remain in captivity.
The family’s plight — and the two boys with their shocks of ginger hair — have captivated Israelis, and Yarden’s release dims hopes that the three others are alive.
Family of Keith Siegal says they can ‘breathe again’ as he returns to Israel
JERUSALEM — The family of Keith Siegel said they could breathe again as he returned to Israel after being released by Hamas.
Siegel, an American Israeli from North Carolina, was captured from the communal farming village by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023.
“Finally, after 484 long, terrifying days and nights, full of immense worry for our father, we can breathe again,” his family wrote in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
Siegel’s family also thanked U.S. President Donald Trump, the American and Israeli governments, and the Israeli military for securing his return.
Israel says all 183 Palestinian prisoners set for release are now free
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli Prison Authority says that all 183 Palestinian prisoners slated for release on Saturday have been freed. Most of them, including 111 arrested after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, were released to Gaza. Just over two dozen returned to cheering crowds in the occupied West Bank. Another seven serving life sentences were transferred to Egypt ahead of their deportation.
That concludes the fourth prisoner-for-hostage swap in the six-week initial phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Sick and wounded children leave Gaza for treatment as border crossing reopens
RAFAH CROSSING, Egypt — A group of 50 sick and wounded Palestinian children began crossing to Egypt for treatment through Gaza’s Rafah crossing on Saturday, in the first opening of the border since Israel captured it nearly nine months ago.
The reopening of the Rafah crossing represents a significant breakthrough that bolsters the ceasefire deal Israel and Hamas agreed to earlier this month. Israel agreed to reopen the crossing after Hamas released the last living female hostages in Gaza.
Egyptian television showed an Palestinian Red Cross ambulance pulling up to the crossing gate, and several children were brought out on stretchers and transferred to ambulances on the Egyptian side.
Prisoners released by Israel include aid worker jailed in controversial case
RAMALLAH, West Bank — One of the most prominent Palestinians being released on Saturday is aid worker Mohammed el-Halabi, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in a high-profile case that drew criticism from rights groups.
El-Halabi had worked as the Palestinian manager of the Gaza branch of World Vision, a major Christian aid organization. He was was arrested in 2016 and accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to Hamas. Both el-Halabi, 47, and World Vision vigorously denied the allegations and independent investigations found no proof of wrongdoing.
Rights groups say el-Halabi was denied a fair and transparent trial, as he and World Vision had no chance to review the evidence against them. His prolonged detention sent a chill through nongovernmental groups providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel begins freeing Palestinian prisoners
OFER MILITARY PRISON, West Bank — Israel has begun freeing 183 Palestinian prisoners due for release after Hamas freed three hostages as part of the ceasefire deal that has halted 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
A bus departed Ofer Military Prison with some 32 prisoners headed for the West Bank. About 150 other prisoners were being sent to Gaza or deported.
According to Palestinian authorities, a total of 183 Palestinian prisoners are to be released, including dozens serving lengthy or life sentences and 111 people from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after Oct. 7, 2023, and held without trial.
Palestinian Authority says Israel will begin releasing Palestinians held without trial after Oct. 7 attack
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Authority’s commission of prisoners’ affairs says that a total of 183 Palestinian prisoners are slated for release Saturday in exchange for the three Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
In a sign that the ceasefire agreement is progressing, this release departs from the previous formula of 30 Palestinian prisoners for each Israeli hostage to include more Palestinian detainees who were rounded up in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that began the war.
As part of the ceasefire deal, Israel has agreed to release about 1,000 Palestinians from Gaza who were detained on suspicion of militancy and have been held without trial since the day after the Oct. 7 attack.
The Palestinian Authority said that on Saturday, Israel will release 111 of these Palestinians from Gaza on the condition that they did not participate in the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, the first of what will be several such releases staggered over the six weeks of the Phase 1 ceasefire deal.
The other 72 Palestinians set to be released Saturday were serving long or life sentences on national security charges connected to their involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis. Of that group, 32 hail from the occupied West Bank, where families and friends on Saturday were anxiously awaiting their return, and another 39 come from Gaza.
Seven of the prisoners serving life sentences will be transferred to Egypt before further deportation under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Freed hostage reunites with father and sister
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military published footage of released hostage Yarden Bibas reuniting with his father and sister at a military base outside of Gaza, where he is undergoing initial medical checks immediately after entering Israel. He closed his eyes as his father, Eli, and sister Ofri hugged him fiercely. “Sweetheart,” his father said, as the family embraced and cried.
Bibas, 35, is the father of the two youngest hostages in Gaza, whose plight has become a rallying cry for Israelis. The Bibas sons — 4 years old and 9 months old at the time of their abduction — and their mother, Shiri, are still in captivity, and feared dead.
Shiri Bibas and the two children are the last woman and children held in captivity in Gaza who have not been confirmed dead by Israel.
In November 2023, Yarden Bibas was filmed by Hamas as he was told that Shiri Bibas and the children were kidnapped and killed in an Israeli airstrike. In the video, filmed under duress, Yarden is sobbing and pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring their bodies to Israel for burial.
Israel dismissed the video as “psychological terror” and said there was no concrete information about the status of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, but there have been no signs of life from the three in the past year.
Siegel returns to Israel
Israel confirmed that American Israeli hostage Keith Siegel had crossed the border from Gaza after being handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross at a ceremony in Gaza City. The Israeli military said in a statement that he was headed to a reception point at a military base, where he would be met by family members before heading to a hospital.
Family of French Israeli hostage celebrates his return
PARIS — The family of Ofer Kalderon said they were “overwhelmed with joy, relief and emotion” after his release by Hamas.
Kalderon, a 54-year-old French-Israeli citizen, was one of three male hostages released Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal that halted fighting in Gaza after more than 15 months of war.
Kalderon was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nir Oz kibbutz on Oct. 7, along with his daughter Sahar and son Erez. The children were released in November 2023 during a temporary ceasefire.
“Today, we finally embrace Ofer, seeing and truly comprehending that he is here with us,” his family said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters. “We have witnessed how, through extraordinary mental strength, he survived this hell. Ofer endured months in a nightmare, and we are proud of his ability to survive and hold onto the hope of embracing his children again."
The family added a note of support for the remaining hostages still being held by Hamas.
“In the midst of this emotional moment, we must remember all the hostages who remain behind. We have no right to stop until all 79 hostages return home — whether for rehabilitation or for burial,” the family said.
Kibbutz members cheer as their neighbor is released
There were sighs of relief and cheers in the living room where members of Kibbutz Kfar Aza watched Hamas militants hand over hostage Keith Siegel to the Red Cross.
Siegel, an American Israeli from North Carolina, was captured from the communal farming village by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023.
His neighbors gathered anxiously in front of the television as they watched footage of Siegel, looking thin, emerging from a vehicle and walking through a crowd in Gaza city, flanked by Hamas militants.
Many of those in the room were family friends. They applauded upon seeing Siegel’s face. Some teared up.
Siegel is one of the highest-profile hostages, now a household name in Israel after his wife Aviva Siegel, also captured in the Hamas attack, mounted a public campaign to bring him home after her own release from captivity in November 2023.
Hamas hands over U.S.-Israeli hostage
Hamas has handed American Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, over to the Red Cross, the third hostage to be released Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel.
Siegel walked onto a stage set up by the sea in Gaza City before militants handed him over to waiting Red Cross officials.
Earlier, the militants released Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, to the Red Cross in similar scenes in the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. All three had been abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war.
Macron hails release of French citizen
French President Emmanuel Macron has hailed the release of French-Israeli citizen Ofer Kalderon, while noting that another French citizen remains a hostage.
“Ofer Kalderon is free! We share the immense relief and joy of his family after 483 days of unimaginable hell," Macron posted on X.
Our thoughts are with Ohad Yahalomi, still in the hands of Hamas, and his family. France is doing everything in its power to secure his immediate release.”
Red Cross vehicles arrive in Gaza City for planned hostage release
Red Cross vehicles have arrived in Gaza City where Hamas is set to release American Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, as part of the fourth round of hostage releases in its ceasefire deal with Israel.
Two other hostages — Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54 — were released earlier Saturday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In return for the three, Israel is to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
2 freed hostages return to Israel
TEL AVIV, Israel — Two released hostages, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas, have arrived in Israel and are on their way to an initial reception point. Along the road leading to the military base, small groups of supporters waited for the convoys waving Israeli flags.
The two hostages were freed Saturday as part of the fourth such release in Israel's ceasefire with Hamas. One more, American Israeli Keith Siegel, is set to be released in Gaza City later Saturday morning.
Hamas hands 2 hostages over to Red Cross
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hamas handed two hostages over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel.
The militants released Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, in a highly stage-managed and orderly handover to the Red Cross. Both had been abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war.
Another hostage, American Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, was also set to be released Saturday and was expected to be handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City to the north.
Red Cross vehicles arrive at site of planned hostage handover
Red Cross vehicles arrived in a location in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Saturday where Hamas was set to release hostages in its ceasefire deal with Israel.
The Associated Press
