Tel Aviv [Israel], February 1 (ANI): Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas which held them in captivity for 484 days, as per The Press Service of Israel (TPS-IL).
On Saturday morning, local time, 54-year-old Ofer Kalderon and 35-year-old Yarden Bibas were presented to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, in the strip’s south.
Earlier, on Saturday, IDF confirmed, three kidnapped Israelis Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon and Keith Siegel are back in Israel after 484 days in captivity, according to TPS.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson was cited by TPS as saying: “Ofer Calderon and Jordan Bibas arrived at the initial absorption point in the Gaza Strip.”
IDF personnel and medical personnel are accompanying the returning civilians, and they will undergo an initial medical assessment.
As per TPS, IDF representatives are also accompanying family members waiting at the hospital and providing them with regular updates.
Bibas, 35, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with wife Shiri, and their two sons, Ariel and Kfir, who at nine months old was the youngest hostage. A video of the terrified Shiri protectively wrapping her children in a blanket while being taken to Gaza became an iconic image of the war. The last sign of life from Yarden was in a Hamas propaganda video in November showing Yarden being told that his wife and children were killed in an Israeli airstrike – though Hamas never provided evidence of their deaths.
Bibas, 35, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with wife Shiri, and their two sons, Ariel and Kfir, who at nine months old was the youngest hostage. A video of the terrified Shiri protectively wrapping her children in a blanket while being taken to Gaza became an iconic image of the war. The last sign of life from Yarden was in a Hamas propaganda video in November showing Yarden being told that his wife and children were killed in an Israeli airstrike – though Hamas never provided evidence of their deaths.
Kalderon, 53, was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his daughters, Sahar and Erez, 16 and 12 respectively. The daughters were freed during a temporary ceasefire in November 2023. Sahar said she met him in a tunnels and that his physical and mental condition was very poor. Ex-wife, Hadas kalderon was leading the campaign for Ofer’s release.
Siegel, 65, originally from North Carolina, was abducted with his wife, Aviva, from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where they have lived for 42 years. An occupational therapist, his last sign of life was in a Hamas propaganda video in April 2024. Aviva was released during the November 2023 ceasefire.
Saturday’s handover to the Red Cross was executed swiftly during the morning hours, following mediators’ stern reprimand to Hamas over Thursday’s chaos. On Thursday, Israeli authorities briefly suspended the release of 110 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel after Hamas forced hostages Gadi Moses and Arbel Yehud to walk by foot through a mob of Palestinians in Khan Yunis to waiting Red Cross vehicles.
The terrorists were released after Qatari and Egyptian mediators provided assurances that the scenes would not be repeated.
Meanwhile, the Israel Prison Service was preparing to release 183 Palestinian terrorists, including several serving life sentences for murder. They have been brought to the main reception centers in the ‘Ofer’ and ‘Ktziot’ prisons where Red Cross representatives will identify each one. Once the hostages are freed, the Red Cross will take the prisoners to release points in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. Others being deported to the Gaza Strip or to third countries via Gaza will be taken to the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
The first phase of the ceasefire is supposed to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages freed over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how many are alive.
The fate of the remaining 65 hostages will be determined by negotiations to begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire. Critics say the phased approach condemns hostages not freed in the beginning to open-ended captivity and undermines Israel’s war gains.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 79 remaining hostages, 35 have been declared dead. (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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