Eyad BABA / AFP
Hamas on Saturday released three Israeli hostages in the fourth exchange of the ceasefire deal, ahead of the expected release of 183 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas were paraded on a stage before being released to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, AFP journalists reported,
Hamas also handed over Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel.
Hamas fighters paraded Siegel, 65, on a stage set up at a harbour for the handover.
French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile shared his joy on Saturday over the release of Franco-Israeli hostage Kalderon "after 483 days of unimaginable hell" as a captive held in Gaza.
Macron said on X he shared the "relief and joy" of Kalderon's family and friends.
The 54-year-old was abducted on October 7, 2023 from the Nir Oz kibbutz along with his son and daughter.
After holding them hostage for more than 15 months, militants in Gaza began releasing captives on January 19, as the first phase of a ceasefire with Israel took effect.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have so far handed over 18 hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them women and minors.
Later Saturday, Israel will free 183 prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group said.
"The updated number of prisoners to be released tomorrow is 183," the Club's spokeswoman Amani Sarahneh said Friday, after previously announcing that 90 prisoners would be freed.
During their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which started the Gaza war, militants abducted American-Israeli Siegel from the Kfar Aza kibbutz community, and Bibas and French-Israeli Kalderon from kibbutz Nir Oz.
Militants took a total of 251 people hostage that day. Of those, 76 remain in Gaza, including at least 34 the military says are dead.
