Saturday February 1, 2025
Hamas fighters stand guard as people gather ahead of the handover of Israeli captives in Khan Younis, southern Gaza [Ramadan Abed/Reuters]
The Palestinian group Hamas has released three Israeli captives in two separate handover rites, 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.
American-Israeli national Keith Siegel was handed over about an hour later to the same Red Cross officials in Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave.
Hundreds of Hamas fighters were seen lining up and managing the crowd in both Khan Younis and Gaza, where Kalderon, Bibas and Siegel were separately handed to representatives of the International Red Cross.
Kalderon and Bibas were seen waving and greeting the crowd of Palestinians who watched the handover.
Siegel was later seen presented by Hamas on stage in Gaza City before he was handed over to the Red Cross.
So far, Kalderon and Bigas have arrived back in Israel, where they will undergo initial medical check-up before meeting their families.
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 sick and seriously-injured Palestinians to finally get treatment.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, who is reporting from Gaza City, said the opening is expected to happen later on Saturday, allowing an initial 50 sick Palestinians to be evacuated to Gaza. Each Palestinian will also be allowed to be accompanied by three family members.
“It is very significant” as it will also allow the delivery of humanitarian good to Palestinians in Gaza, Mahmoud said.
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: Al Jazeera and news agencies