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Three more hostages captured from Israel during Hamas’ ambush on 7 October will be freed on Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENTIsraeli officials confirmed on Friday the names of three male hostages slated to be freed by Hamas from the Gaza Strip on Saturday.Israelis Yarden Bibas, 35, Ofer Kalderon, 54, and Israeli-US national Keith Siegel, 65, are set to be released as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took hold earlier this month. Bibas is the father of 10-month-old Kfir, who was kidnapped separately with his mother, Shiri, and four-year-old brother, Ariel. Speculation has grown over the whereabouts of his Bibas’ wife and children, with 10-month-old Kfir the youngest of all hostages captured by the militant group and taken into the Gaza Strip. Their fate is currently unknown. Kalderon and his two children were captured from the Nir Oz Kibbutz on 7 October last year as Hamas launched a surprise massacre in southern Israel that sparked 15 months of fighting. His children — Erez and Sahar — were freed during a brief, earlier ceasefire.Siegel, a US citizen from North Carolina, was kidnapped alongside his wife Aviva from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Aviva was freed in November 2023. In exchange for the hostages, Israel will release a batch of Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Association said nine prisoners serving life sentences and another 81 serving long-term sentences will be freed on Saturday. Israel has so far not commented. Four hundred Palestinian prisoners have so far been freed in exchange for hostages since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal came into effect on 19 January. Saturday’s release will be the fourth such exchange since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect on 19 January. On Thursday, Hamas released eight hostages in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in a chaotic handover.Images of Israeli hostages being led by gunmen through large crowds of militants sparked Israel to briefly delay the release of the prisoners out of outrage over the hostage’s treatment. The Israeli prime minister’s office later said it received from mediators of the ceasefire a commitment “that a safe exit will be guaranteed for our hostages” yet to be released.Video editor • Rory Elliott Armstrong
