Israeli officials have confirmed receiving names of three hostages who are set to be released by Hamas tomorrow — Ofer Calderon, Keith Siegel, and Yarden Bibas, Times of Israel reported.
Keith Siegel, a 65-year-old US citizen originally from North Carolina, was abducted along with his wife, Aviva, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Aviva was released in November 2023.
Ofer Calderon, 54, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, along with his two children, Erez and Sahar. Both children were freed during the previous ceasefire.
Yarden Bibas, 35, was taken hostage separately from his wife, Shiri, and their children, Ariel and Kfir, who were also abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Hamas has claimed that Shiri and the two boys died while in captivity. While Israel has not officially confirmed their deaths, the officials have voiced “grave concern” for their safety. Yarden was reportedly injured at the time of his abduction, according to Times of Israel reported.
According to Israeli officials, the families of the hostages have been informed, and Israel has accepted Hamas’ proposed list of those to be released.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners after receiving security assurance from the mediators of the ongoing ceasefire-hostage deal, following the chaotic scenes in Khan Younis during the handover of Israeli and Thai hostages.
According to Al Jazeera, Israel released the Palestinian prisoners after the Israeli military confirmed the release of three Israelis, one male and two female, and five Thailand nationals.
Initially, Israel had delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners and had asserted that the prisoners won’t be freed until the “safe passage” of the hostages is “guaranteed in the next releases.”
This came after chaotic scenes were witnessed on Thursday, during the hostage release. Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud, was forced to walk from an Islamic Jihad vehicle to the Red Cross vehicle through a heaving mob of jeering onlookers, as reported by Times of Israel.
The vehicles struggled to inch their way through the large crowd of onlookers amid wailing sirens. Hundreds of heavily armed, masked gunmen also surround the vehicles, pushing away the onlookers.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked southern Israel killing over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting over 200 others. Over 46,000 Palestinians have been also killed in Gaza in Israel’s counter-offensive against Hamas.
Earlier, over 100 hostages were freed during the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
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