Hamas names Israeli hostages to be freed on Saturday

Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it would free the father of the youngest hostages and two others including a dual US citizen in the next exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon will be handed over on Saturday, Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said 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 Hamas fighters.

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 released in the first exchange.

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 militants 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 five Thai workers taken on Oct.7, and 400 prisoners have so far been exchanged. 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 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.

PALESTINIAN PRISONERS INCLUDE MINORS

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.

Reuters