Hamas releases three Israeli captives in exchange for over 180 Palestinians

French-Israeli dual national Ofer Kalderon and Israeli citizen Yarden Bibas were handed over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Al Jazeera TV showed on Saturday.

Over an hour later, American-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel was handed over to Red Cross officials in Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave.

Hundreds of Hamas fighters were seen lining up and managing the crowd in both Khan Younis and Gaza City, as Kalderon, Bibas and Siegel waved to the crowd of Palestinians at the handover.

Kalderon and Bibas have reached Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical check-up before meeting their families. The fate of Bibas’ wife and two young children, who were also taken captive by Hamas, is still unknown.

As of 0900 GMT, Siegel was being escorted by the Red Cross back to Israel.

As part of the ceasefire deal entered on January 19, Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth such exchange. A total of 73 have been serving long-time prison terms and lifetime sentences.

There are an estimated 4,500 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli prisons – 310 of them held under the so-called “administrative detention” without the right to a trial.

Negotiations are due to start by Tuesday on agreements for the release of more than 60 remaining captives, the release of more Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in a second phase of the deal.

The initial six-week ceasefire, agreed with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the United States, has so far stayed on track despite a number of incidents that have led both sides to accuse the other of violating the deal.

Also on Saturday, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is likely to be reopened to allow sick and seriously injured Palestinians to finally get treatment.

The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 captives, according to Israeli figures.

An Israeli military campaign following the Hamas attack destroyed much of the densely populated Gaza Strip and killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authorities.