Hamas has released three hostages in the southern Gaza Strip as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel.
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 from 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.
The family of Mr Bibas said “there are no words to describe the relief of holding Yarden in our hands, embracing him, and hearing his voice”, after his release from captivity.
Mr Bibas, 35, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 2023. His wife, Shiri, and their two young boys, Ariel and Kfir, were also taken that day and are still captive in Gaza. It is unknown if they are still alive.
“Yarden has returned home, but the home remains incomplete,” the family wrote.
“Yarden is a father who left his safe room to protect his family, bravely survived captivity, and returned to an unbearable reality.”
The family said it “continues with hope” and made a plea to the public to keep pressing for the release of all remaining 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.
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.
Ofer Kalderon est libre ! Nous partageons le soulagement et la joie immenses de ses proches après 483 jours d’un enfer inimaginable.
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.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 1, 2025
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.
The Health Ministry said 50 sick and wounded children are scheduled to be evacuated through the Rafah crossing along with 61 companions.
Mr Siegel, 65, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, along with his wife, Aviva Siegel. She was released during the 2023 ceasefire and has waged a high-profile campaign to free Keith and other hostages.
Mr Siegel had an emotional reunion with his family members following his release.
In footage released by Israel’s government press office, Mr Siegel’s daughters greeted him at hospital, where doctors are monitoring his condition, with a song and hugged him tightly. He told them they were “champions”.
The White House issued a statement saying: “Today, Americans celebrate the return of American-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel and two Israelis who were held captive by Hamas terrorists since October 7 2023. President Trump and his administration have worked diligently to secure their release and are committed to freeing all remaining hostages.”
Meanwhile, the release of Mr Bibas has brought renewed attention to the fate of his wife, Shiri, and their two young sons.
A video of their abduction by armed men showed Shiri swaddling in a blanket her two red-headed boys – Ariel, four, and Kfir, just nine months old at the time.
Kfir was the youngest of about 250 people taken captive on October 7, and his plight quickly came to represent the helplessness and anger the hostage-taking stirred in Israel, where the Bibas family has become a household name.
Hamas has said Shiri and her sons were killed in an Israeli air strike. Israel has not confirmed that, but a military spokesman recently acknowledged serious concern about their fates.
Like Mr Bibas, Mr Kalderon was also captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
In Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv, 54-year-old Mr Kalderon’s family hugged and cheered as they saw the images of him climbing onto the stage in Khan Younis and being transferred to the Red Cross.
Ofer Kalderon’s two children, Erez and Sahar, were abducted alongside him and released during a ceasefire in November 2023. Family members said they were not able to recover from their ordeal until their father returned.
“We are sorry it took so long, Ofer,” said Eyal Kalderon. “We will soon be a whole family again. We hope other families will soon feel like this, until the last family.”
The dozens of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel on Saturday include people serving lengthy and life sentences.
More than 100 hostages were released during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. About 80 more hostages are still in Gaza, at least a third of them believed dead. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the 33 to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire are dead.
Israel and Hamas are set next week to begin negotiating a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the release of the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.
Israel says it is still committed to destroying Hamas, even after the militant group reasserted its rule over Gaza within hours of the latest ceasefire. A key far-right partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is calling for the war to resume after the ceasefire’s first phase.
Hamas says it will not release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu will fly to Washington on Sunday for a visit in which he will meet Donald Trump, his office said on Saturday.
Mr Trump invited Mr Netanyahu to the White House last week, making the Israeli leader the first foreign head of state to meet him in his second term.
Mr Netanyahu’s visit comes as the US is putting pressure on Israel and Hamas to continue a ceasefire that has paused a devastating 15-month war in Gaza. Talks about the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which aims to end the war, begin on Monday.
The Washington meeting is a chance for Mr Netanyahu, under pressure at home, to remind the world of the support he has received from Mr Trump over the years, and to defend Israel’s conduct of the war.
Mr Netanyahu’s office said he spoke on Saturday evening to Mr Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. They agreed that negotiations on the Gaza ceasefire’s second phase will begin at their meeting Monday in Washington.
He and Mr Witkoff will discuss Israel’s positions and Mr Witkoff later in the week will speak to the other mediators, Qatar and Egypt.
Later on Saturday Mr Netanyahu named a new military chief of staff to take up the role once the current head general resigns in March.
Mr Netanyahu’s office said Major General Eyal Zamir would replace Lt Gen Herzi Halevi. Lt Gen Halevi said last month he was resigning over Hamas’s 2023 attack, the worst security disaster in Israel’s history.
Following Mr Netanyahu’s announcement, Lt Gen Halevi released a statement congratulating Gen Zamir, the director general of Israel’s defence ministry, and pledging a smooth transition of command.
