Palestinian prisoners arrive in West Bank as three more Israeli hostages freed by Hamas
1 February 2025, 11:12 | Updated: 1 February 2025, 11:30
Hamas has released three hostages in the southern Gaza Strip as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Militants handed Yarden Bibas and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon to Red Cross officials in the southern city of Khan Younis, while American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, looking pale and thin, was released to the Red Cross later on Saturday morning in Gaza City to the north.
In exchange, Israel has begun releasing a group of Palestinian prisoners.
A bus departed Ofer Military Prison with some 32 prisoners for the West Bank. About 150 other prisoners are either being sent to Gaza or deported.
According to Palestinian authorities, a total of 183 Palestinian prisoners are to be released, including dozens serving lengthy sentences or life sentences, and 111 people from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after October 7 2023 and held without trial.
All three of the Israeli hostages were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the war on October 7 2023.
Israel confirmed that all three men had crossed the border and would head to hospital from an initial reception point at a military base.
Both events were quick and orderly, in contrast to chaotic scenes that had unfolded during an earlier hostage release on Thursday, when armed militants appeared to struggle to hold back a crowd mobbing the hostages.
In both of Saturday's releases, masked and armed militants stood in lines as the hostages walked onto a stage and waved before being led off and handed over to the Red Cross.
In Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, thousands of people gathered to watch the releases being transmitted live on a large screen, waving signs and cheering.
The truce, which began on January 19, is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
The fragile deal has held for nearly two weeks, halting the fighting and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.
A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the truce's initial six weeks.
Israel says it has received information from Hamas that eight of those hostages were either killed in Hamas' initial attack or have died in captivity.
Ofer Kalderon est libre ! Nous partageons le soulagement et la joie immenses de ses proches après 483 jours d’un enfer inimaginable.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 1, 2025
Nous pensons à Ohad Yahalomi, toujours aux mains du Hamas, et à sa famille. La France met tout en œuvre pour parvenir à sa libération sans délai.
French President Emmanuel Macron has hailed the release of French-Israeli citizen Mr 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," Mr 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."
Also on Saturday, wounded Palestinians are expected to be allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt through the Rafah crossing.
It had been the only exit point for Palestinians during the war before Israel closed it in May. A European Union civilian mission was deployed on Friday to prepare for the reopening of the crossing.
The reopening would mark another key step in the first phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory.
