Israel Releases Palestinian Prisoners After Hamas Frees 3 Hostages
Israel began releasing a group of Palestinian prisoners hours after Hamas freed three hostages as part of the ceasefire deal that has halted 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
A bus departed Ofer Military Prison with some 32 prisoners for the West Bank. About 150 other prisoners were 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 Oct. 7, 2023 and held without trial.
Earlier, 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 Saturday morning in Gaza City to the north.
All three were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Their release brings to 18 the number of hostages released since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19.
Both of Saturday’s 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. 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 ceasefire is aimed at winding down the war fought between Israel and the Hamas militant group. The deal has held for two weeks, halting the fighting and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.
During the truce’s six-week first phase, a total of 33 Israeli hostages are to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says it has received information from Hamas that eight of those hostages were either killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack or have died in captivity.
Also on Saturday, wounded Palestinians are expected to be allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt through the Rafah crossing, the only exit point for Palestinians during the war before Israel closed it in May. A European Union civilian mission was deployed Friday to prepare for the crossing’s reopening.
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 to be evacuated through the Rafah crossing along with 61 companions.
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.
There were sighs of relief and cheers in a living room where members of the kibbutz watched Siegel’s release. Many of those in the room were family friends, who applauded upon seeing Siegel’s face, while some teared up.
Siegel is one of the highest-profile hostages, now a household name in Israel after his wife Aviva Siegel, also captured in the Hamas attack, mounted a public campaign to bring him home after her own release from captivity in November 2023.
