Hamas on Saturday released two of the three Israeli hostages to the fourth exchange of the ceasefire deal, before the expected release of 183 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
AFP journalists said that Terraderan and Yordan Bibas were paraded on a platform before releasing for Red Cross at Khan Younis in Southern Gaza, while Keith Seagal was freed in a similar ceremony at the port of Gaza City in the north Has been designed to do.
Israel’s army later confirmed that Bibas and Calderan had returned to the Israeli region.
After taking him hostage for more than 15 months, terrorists in Gaza began to release captives on January 19, as the first stage of a ceasefire with Israel influenced.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists have so far handed over to 18 hostages to the International Committee of Red Cross in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them are women and minors.
Later on Saturday, Israel will free 183 prisoners, the Palestinian prisoner club advocates group.
Club spokesman Amani Sarahaneh said on Friday, “The update number of prisoners to be released yesterday” Amani Sarahane, spokesperson of the club, said on Friday that after the first announcement that 90 prisoners would be freed.
During the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, the terrorists who started the Gaza war, kidnapped the US-Israeli Seagal from the Kefer Aja Kibutz community, and Kibutaz Neer Oz Se Bibas and French-Israeli Kaladeran.
The militants took a total of 251 people hostage that day. Among them, 76 are built in Gaza, including at least 34, which military says that they have died.
Those seized include Bibas’s wife and two children, who have been declared dead by Hamas, although Israeli officials have not confirmed this.
Two Bibas boys – Kefir, the youngest hostage whose second birthday was earlier this month, and his elder brother Ariel whose fifth birthday was in August – has become a symbol of the ordinance of the bondage.
The children were taken with their mother Shiri. Hamas says that in November 2023, an Israeli air strike killed all three.
The Bibas family said on Instagram on Friday, “Our Yordon is about to return tomorrow and we are very excited but Shiri and the children are still not returning.” “We have such mixed feelings and we are facing extremely complex days.”
“Hamas, where are Bibas’s children?” Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted on X. “483 days have passed. Where are they?”
The crowd is mostly absent
Ahead of both exchanges in Khan Younis Gaza and Gaza City, the score of masked Hamas fighters stood up, apparently to control the audience.
Unlike Thursday’s frenzied exchange, which attracted Israel’s condemnation, the large crowd was mostly absent.
Green Hamas and Palestinian flags flew at the Gaza port in a strong air.
The rank of heavy armed Hamas fighters made portraits of the dead leaders of the group, including military chief Mohammad Def, who was accused of being the mastermind of the October 7 attack by Israel and who was confirmed on Thursday.
The arrangement of hostage handover in Gaza has been chaotic, especially on Thursday in Khan Younis.
Israel on Thursday delayed the release of its prisoner in protest, and the ICRC urged all sides to improve security.
When Saturday’s mortgage release is completed, Gaza is expected to cross the border of Gaza with Egypt, with an officer of Hamas and a source with knowledge of discussion to AFP.
The Hamas official said, “The intermediaries spoke about Israel’s approval to open a rafa crossing on Saturday, on Saturday, after the completion of the fourth batch of prisoner exchange.”
In May, before confiscating the Palestinian side of the crossing, there was an important entry point for assistance in Rafa Gaza.
European Union’s top diplomat Kaza Kalas said on Friday that the block has also deployed a monitoring mission at the crossing “Palestinian border personnel and also deployed people allowing people to transfer individuals out of Gaza, including medical care Need “.
‘where’s Dad?’
On Thursday, Israeli officials released 110 prisoners from OFER jail, which included former 49-year-old high-profile terrorist commander Zakaria Jubidi, who welcomed a hero in Ramallah’s West Bank city.
On Friday, he called for freed “all our Palestinians” from Israeli jails.
“The position of the prisoners is very difficult and we expect their immediate release,” Jubidhi told AFP.
The free Hussain was also Nasir, who paid very little attention from the crowd, but was at the center of his daughter’s world.
“where’s Dad?” 21 -year -old Raghada Nasar asked tears that she went through the crowd, an AFP correspondent.
His mother was pregnant with her when she went to jail 22 years ago.
Raghada said, “I only went behind glass in Israeli jails. I cannot express my feelings.”
About 1,900 people in Israeli jails, most of the Palestinians, have the first 42-day of the delicate ceasefire on the release of a total of 33 hostages.
The conversation for the second phase of the deal is scheduled to begin on Monday, according to a time -line provided by an Israeli official.
This phase is expected to cover the release of the remaining prisoners and include discussion on the more permanent end of the war.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
