Hamas releases two Israeli captives in Gaza, third to be freed shortly

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Hamas hands over Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas to the Red Cross in Gaza’s Khan Younis, while Keith Siegel is to be freed in Gaza City.

The Palestinian group Hamas has released two of three Israeli captives in the latest stage of a gradual exchange under a ceasefire deal that ended the 15-month Israeli genocide in Gaza.

French-Israeli national Ofer Kalderon and Israeli citizen Yarden Bibas were handed over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Al Jazeera TV showed on Saturday.

Both Kalderon and Bibas were seen waving to the crowd of Palestinians who watched the handover to the Red Cross.

Hundreds of Hamas fighters were seen lining up and managing the crowd in the area where the release took place.

Both captives have now arrived back in Israel, where they will undergo initial medical check-up before meeting their families.

American-Israeli national Keith Siegel is also expected to be released shortly in Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, who is reporting from the site of the release in Khan Younis, described the handover as “well-organised” compared to the previous releases.

“The scene is quite incredible, without stampeding observed before. Usually, such handover are made under very tense circumstances,” he said.

Luciano Zaccara, a professor at Qatar University and an expert on Middle East politics, said the latest release of captives proved that Hamas is still “able to organise and manage the situation in Gaza” despite the months-long Israeli bombardment.

“Even though Israel claimed that Hamas has been destroyed, the scenes we have witnessed give you an idea that Hamas is still there,” he told Al Jazeera.

“The exchange is moving without delay and we hope that the second phase of the ceasefire will start as planned.”

As part of the ceasefire deal entered on January 19, Israel is also expected to free 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth such exchange.

Also on Saturday, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is likely to be reopened to allow seriously-injured Palestinians to finally get treatment.

Gershon Baskin, an Israeli columnist living in West Jerusalem, noted in an interview wiht Al Jazeera that there is “very little talk about the opening” of the Rafah crossing within Israel.

Negotiations are due to start by Tuesday on agreements for the release of more than 60 remaining captives, the release of more Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in a second phase of the deal.

The initial six-week ceasefire, agreed with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the United States, has so far stayed on track despite a number of incidents that have led both sides to accuse the other of violating the deal.

The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 killed some 1,200 people and took more than 250 captives, according to Israeli figures.

Israel’s campaign in response has destroyed much of the densely populated Gaza Strip and killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Source

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Al Jazeera and news agencies