Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages Saturday, the latest in a series of exchanges agreed to in a deal aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.
French Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, and Israeli Yarden Bibas, 35, were handed over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis before being returned to Israel. Israeli American Keith Siegel, 65, was released hours later at the Gaza City seaport.
Bibas was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack on Israel along with his wife, Shiri, and their two young sons, Ariel, 5, and Kfir, 2. The fate of his family is uncertain.
Siegel, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza along with his wife, Aviva Siegel. Aviva Siegel was released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023.
Kalderon was captured by the militants from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his two children. His ex-wife, Hadas Kalderon, was also taken captive but was released with their children during the 2023 hostage exchange.
Israel had agreed to release 90 prisoners Saturday, the fourth such exchange. But a Palestinian advocacy group said that number had been updated to 183, expected to be freed later in the day.
Israel reopens Rafah crossing
Israel also reopened the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which will allow 50 Palestinians daily, each with three escorts, to leave Gaza for medical treatment.
Later Saturday, foreign ministers from five Arab nations and the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League rejected removing Palestinians from their land. U.S. President Donald Trump had called for Jordan and Egypt to take in the Palestinians, citing the destruction of the Gaza Strip.
"We affirm our rejection of [any attempts] to compromise Palestinians' unalienable rights, whether through settlement activities, or evictions or annex of land or through vacating the land from its owners ... in any form or under any circumstances or justifications," the joint statement read.
Several million Palestinians live in Jordan, and tens of thousands live in Egypt.
Fatal strikes continue
In the West Bank on Saturday, Israeli airstrikes killed five people, including a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, the Palestinian health ministry said. The Israeli military said it had struck armed terrorists in airstrikes in the Jenin area.
Israel has been engaged in military operations in the West Bank since January 21, searching for weapons and equipment that it says are being smuggled into the West Bank by Iran. Before Saturday, Israel said its military operation had killed 18 militants in the Jenin refugee camp. Included in that toll is a 2-year-old girl. The military is looking into her death, it said, calling it tragic.
Israel and Hamas are to begin negotiating the second phase of the three-phase ceasefire on Monday. The second stage calls for all Israeli hostages to be freed, a long-term ceasefire in Gaza, and an Israeli troop withdrawal.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which has been designated a terror group by the United States, the U.K. and other Western countries, began after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured about 250 hostages in the attack. Israel had said it believes Hamas is still holding about 100 hostages, including 35 the military says are dead. Under the recent ceasefire, 18 of those hostages have been released.
Israel's counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The Israeli military says it has killed more than 17,000 militants in the offensive, without providing evidence.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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