Three Israeli hostages set for release in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners
Hamas and Israel will conduct their next hostage-prisoner swap as part of the Gaza ceasefire on Saturday, with three Israelis to be released in exchange for 183 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Hamas said on Friday it would free the father of the youngest hostages seized in its October 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 militant group, in a post on his Telegram channel.
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.
Israeli-American 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.
Kalderon's two children Erez and Sahar, abducted alongside him, were also freed in the first exchange. The French-Israeli national's family said they were waiting with "immense joy mixed with paralysing anguish" for his release.
If that succeeds, a formal end to the war could follow along with talks on the mammoth challenge of reconstructing Gaza.
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