(Bloomberg)-A fourth exchange of hostages for prisoners advanced early Saturday, while Israel and Hamas maintain the agreements of the first phase of ceasefire in Gaza-including the reopening of Rafah’s passage to Egypt.
Three hostages – Offer Kalderon, Yarden Bibas and Keith Siegel – were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza and crossed the border to Israel. On the other hand, some of the Palestinian prisoners scheduled to be released today arrived at the West Bank from the arrest of Off in Israel.
Siegel, 65, is the first US citizen to be released since the beginning of the current 42-day ceasefire.
The release of the three men marked the conclusion of the first part of a fourth exchange of hostages for prisoners, while the ceasefire is about to enter its third week. It is planned to last 42 days.
Kalderon and Bibas, who have already met with some family members at an initial reception point in southeastern Israel, were taken to a hospital in the center of Israel, following the protocol.
Siegel crossed to Israel and was received at an initial reception point in the south of the country, announced Israel’s defense forces.
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The American left North Carolina to live in Israel four decades ago. He was kidnapped from his home in Kfar Aza, a few kilometers east of Gaza, during Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. His wife Aviva was also taken, but was released during the previous ceasefire in November 2023 .
Kalderon, 54, and Bibas, 35, were both kidnapped, along with their families, from their homes in Nir Oz during the incursion of Hamas.
Kalderon was taken with his two sons, Sahar and Erez, who were released in November.
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Bibas was kidnapped along with his wife Shiri and his two young children – Ariel, who was four at the time, and Kfir, a nine -month -old baby, the youngest of all hostages taken by Hamas.
The wife and children of Bibas were scheduled to be released in November and also appeared on the list of those to be delivered during the previous three exchanges of the current ceasefire, but have not been released so far. The Israeli military repeatedly said that there is great concern for their lives.
This Saturday’s release in Khan Youis was completed in an organized manner, unlike the chaotic scenes witnessed during Thursday’s release. Israel, at that time, briefly delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners as a protest, and said it insisted the mediators to ensure that such scenes be avoided in future deliveries.
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In exchange for the three hostages released on Saturday, Israel began the release of 183 Palestinian prisoners – 18 fulfilling life imprisonment sentences in Israeli arrests, another 54 with long sentences and 111 detained during Israel’s operations in Gaza.
The 111 are part of 1,000 detainees that Israel would have agreed to release during the first phase of release, due to Hamas claim.
Rafah’s passage, which connects Gaza and Egypt, will be reopened on Saturday for the first time since May, when it was closed after the start of Israel’s land operations. The passage resumes the operation as part of the current agreements between Israel and Hamas.
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The passage will be operated by Palestinians and members of the European Union’s Civil Border Assistance Mission for Rafah’s (Eubam Rafah) passage point, reliving a short -term agreement signed in 2005.
Israel agreed to allow at least 50 medical patients to cross Gaza daily to Egypt, each with up to three companions. A total of at least 200 Palestinians should leave Gaza under this agreement on Saturday.
Two buses carrying a first group of wounded and patient from Gaza left Nasser Hospital and European Hospital in Khan Younis, towards the ticket early Saturday.
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Eubam said in a statement on Friday that he had sent a specialized team to the point of passage from Rafah at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis, in agreement with the Egyptians.
“The mission sent a specialized team to the point of passage from Rafah to allow the Palestinian staff to reopen the RCP,” said Eubam, adding that “under the terms agreed with the parties, the period of sending Eubam’s specialized team will last until the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement ”.
