Three Israeli hostages and dozens of released Palestinian prisoners

Three Israeli hostages that Hamas in Gaza were released from captivity on Saturday, in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Yarden Bibas, 34, offers Kalderon, 53, and Keith Siegel, 65, were delivered to the Red Cross, the last hostages that were launched as part of a high -fire agreement achieved last month.

The Palestinian prisoners were taken by buses to the West Bus, many of them from the close prison of Offer.

The tone of the exchange sat in marked contrast with the chaotic delivery of Thursday, during which the growing crowds were pressed against the hostages, causing concern for their safety and inciting Israel to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners of that day.

The launch of Saturday was more orderly, but retained the presentation elements that they sought to project that Hamas remains the Government Force in Gaza.

The armed combatants lines kept the crowds at bay, while the men who were released were flanked by more armed and masked fighters. A banner behind them carried the images of Hamas’ leaders.

Red Cross officials signed liberation certificates for Mr. Kalderon and Mr. Bibas, whom they were forced to hold them while greeted the crowd in Khan Younis.

As Mr. Siegel, a double dual dual in the United States and Israeli, appeared on stage in the city of Gaza, a crowd gathered in hostages in Tel Aviv square burst into cheers, some singing: “He is a hero, it is A hero. ” A woman described “pure happiness.”

Mr. Siegel’s wife, Adrienne, said that “there is no one happier than me” when she was filmed getting into a car to go to meet her husband.

Mr. Kalderón Francés-Israelí’s family said in a statement that they were “overwhelmed with joy, relief and emotion after 484 long and difficult days of unbearable waiting.”

They added that “he endured months in a nightmare,” maintaining the “hope of hugging their children again.”

But others, like Liz Domsky, had found feelings.

“Everyone needs to return home,” he said as he looked at the hostage procedures.

“I have a student there, Bar Kupershtein. I was a teacher in high school where she studied. We are very worried about him. We hope he returns. He is not on the first list.”

There was a similar complexity of emotion in Israel for the liberation of Mr. Bibas, whose wife, Shiri, and two young children, Ariel and Kfir, were also kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Hamas said they had been killed by an Israeli air strike at the beginning of the next war, but they were appointed in a host list that said in January that he was willing to release.

Holding an image of Kfir, which was only nine months when they took him, Andrean Wittenberg commented: “They are children. They should be at home. It is impossible for them to be in Gaza.”

She added: “I don’t want to give up.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog described Mr. Bibas’ return as “simply heartbreaking”, saying that his country remained “deeply concerned” about his destiny. “As an entire nation we support them in our hearts,” he wrote.

Herzog added that each one launched hostages “deserves the time to rehabilitate and rebuild their lives, and each of the hostages deserves to return home soon.”

In Ramallah, in occupied Bank, the liberated prisoners’ buses were received by large and retirement crowds.

“Despite the oppression and torture we saw, they did not break us and we did not forget you … We are your sacrifice,” said a released prisoner who returned to Gaza, according to the Palestinian media.

The launch of hostages on Saturday was more organized than Thursday, when two Israelis and five Thai nationals They were taken through multitude cheers, which sometimes had to be expelled from the way.

Described as “shocking scenes” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel demanded, and received guarantees, which would not be repeated.

The International Committee of the President of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, had urged to improve security around transfers and “take place safely and dignified.”

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, led by Hamas, almost 47,500 people have been killed in the territory since Israel invaded the attack of October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 Israeli were killed and 251 hostages.

A liberation agreement of high fire and hostages between Israel and Hamas began on January 19, with the first stage to see 33 hostages and 1,900 released prisoners, as well as hundreds of trucks that carry humanitarian aid that is allowed to Gaza all The days.

Rafah’s crossing between Gaza and Egypt, a key humanitarian corridor, was also reopened on Saturday, after eight months of closing.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said that 50 patients had gone through the crossing to access medical care in Egypt.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have also allowed them to return to their homes in northern Gaza this week.

But Ashraf al-Dous, among them, said that some, including their father, have returned to the south after seeing the destruction scale caused by Israeli air attacks.

“It’s really a disaster,” he said. “The situation is catastrophic.”

Most of the floors in their apartment building in the north of Gaza city have been destroyed, he said. “I didn’t expect the situation to be like that, it’s too much.”