Hamas releases three Israeli hostages as ceasefire holds

Three more hostages have been released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

- NAMITA SINGH TOM WATLING

Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon have arrived back in Israel after they were released to the Red Cross by militants in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday morning. Another hostage, AmericanIsraeli Keith Siegel, was handed over to the Red Cross at a different location – Gaza City to the north – last night.

Hours later, 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released in the exchange. Among them, 150 arrived in Gaza while 32 got off a bus in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Out of these, 72 prisoners were held before the 7 October attack, with 18 serving life sentences. The remaining 111 were detained in Gaza after the 7 October attack. “I feel joy despite the journey of pain and hardship that we lived,” said Ali AlBarghouti, who was serving two life sentences in an Israeli jail.

The truce, which began on 19 January, is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Hamas militant group. The fragile deal has held for nearly two weeks, halting the fighting and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.

A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the truce's initial six weeks. Next week Israel and Hamas are due to begin negotiating a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for releasing the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.