Hamas said on Friday it would free the father of the youngest hostages seized in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and two others including a dual US citizen and a dual French citizen in the next exchange of Gaza hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon will be handed over on Saturday, said Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the armed wing of the Palestinian group, in a post on his Telegram channel.
Yarden Bibas is the father of baby Kfir, only nine months old when he was kidnapped, and Ariel, who was four at the time of the cross-border attack.
There was no word on the fate of Kfir and Ariel, or on their mother Shiri, who was taken at the same time. Hamas said in late 2023 that they had been killed by Israeli bombardment, in the early months of the Gaza war.
Video of their capture began circulating soon after they were seized. It showed a terrified Shiri clutching her small children in a blanket as they were bundled into captivity surrounded by the assailants.
The father, Yarden, 34 at the time of the attack, was also abducted and a clip circulated showing him bleeding from a head injury suffered from hammer blows.
Israeli-American Keith Siegel, who was taken hostage with his wife Aviva, was seen in a video released by Hamas last year. His wife was released in the first hostage-for-prisoner exchange in November 2023.
Ofer Kalderon's two children Erez and Sahar, abducted alongside him, were also freed in the first exchange. The joint French-Israeli national's family said they were waiting with "immense joy mixed with paralyzing anguish" for his release.
On Thursday, Hamas freed three Israeli and five Thai hostages in Gaza while Israel freed 110 Palestinian prisoners after delaying the process in anger at the swarming crowds engulfing one of the hostage handover points.
Under the ceasefire deal that halted more than 15 months of fighting, 33 hostages held by Palestinian fighters in Gaza are to be freed in the first six weeks of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been serving life sentences in Israel.
Fifteen hostages, including the five Thai workers, and 400 prisoners have so far been exchanged, and Hamas has told Israel that eight of the 33 are now dead. Ninety Palestinian prisoners, including nine serving life sentences and 81 serving long-term sentences, are to be swapped for the three Israelis on Saturday, Hamas' prisoner information office said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn criticism in Israel for not having sealed a hostage deal earlier in the war after the security failure that enabled Hamas-led gunmen to burst across the border and storm nearby Israeli communities.
But there has also been opposition to the current deal, which some critics in Israel have said leaves the fate of most of the hostages in the balance and Hamas still standing as Gaza's dominant entity, despite months of bombardment and the death of its Gaza leader Yahya Al-Sinwar.
The truce has enabled a surge in international humanitarian aid to Gaza civilians suffering dire supply shortages.
But the fragile calm could be jeopardized if Israel prevents operations in Gaza by the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA after banning it from contact with Israel, UNRWA communications chief Juliette Touma told a briefing in Geneva on Friday. For now, the agency's work in Gaza was continuing, she said.
PALESTINIAN PRISONERS INCLUDE MINORS
Thursday's release of hostages in Gaza was marked by chaotic scenes that led Israel to warn mediators it would not accept any risk to the hostages. For its part, Hamas has accused Israel of violations, including gunfire by its troops and preventing the arrival of tents and heavy equipment.
The Palestinian prisoners and detainees include 30 minors and some convicted members of Palestinian groups responsible for deadly attacks that have killed dozens of people in Israel.
Around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages were abducted in the Hamas attack in Israel, the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Israel's military response has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, and laid waste to the enclave of 2.3 million people, who face severe shortages of medicine, fuel and food.
Around half the hostages were released in November 2023 during the only previous truce, and others have been recovered dead or alive during Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
More talks on the implementation of the second stage of the deal, due to begin by Feb. 4, are meant to open the way to the release of over 60 other hostages, including men of military age, and a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.
If that succeeds, a formal end to the war could follow along with talks on the mammoth challenge of reconstructing Gaza.
