The father of the two youngest children taken hostage during the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel has been identified as one of the next three Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas.
Yarden Bibas, along with his wife Shiri and their sons, ten-month-old Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Hamas announced that Ofer Calderon and Keith Siegel will be released tomorrow alongside Mr. Bibas.
Yarden, Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas were abducted on 7 October 2023.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that it received the list of captives set for release.
“All families of hostages have been updated by IDF (military) liaison officers regarding the names of hostages expected to be released tomorrow,” a statement from Mr. Netanyahu’s office indicated.
“According to the agreement, these are three male hostages who are alive.”
Mr. Siegel, a dual US-Israeli citizen, was taken hostage with his wife Aviva, who was released during the first ceasefire in November 2023.
Mr. Siegel was featured in a video released by Hamas last year.
Mr. Calderon was abducted along with his two children, Erez and Sahar, who were also freed during the 2023 truce.
We need your consent to load this rte-player content. We use rte-player to manage extra content that may set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences
Israel is reportedly set to release 183 prisoners tomorrow, according to a Palestinian advocacy group, which significantly surpasses the previously reported figure.
“The updated count of prisoners being released tomorrow is 183,” said Palestinian Prisoners’ Club spokeswoman Amani Sarahneh today, following an earlier announcement of 90 prisoners set for release from Israeli jails.
Yesterday, Hamas freed three Israeli and five Thai hostages in Gaza, while Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners after initially delaying the process due to overwhelming crowds at one of the hostage handover locations.
Arbel Yehoud, 29, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, appeared frightened and struggled to navigate through the crowd as armed militants handed her over to the Red Cross in a tense scene in Khan Younis.
Arbel Yehoud was released amid chaotic scenes in Khan Younis.
Another Israeli hostage, Gadi Moses, 80, was also released along with five Thai nationals who were working on Israeli farms near Gaza when militants breached the border fence.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed shock at the chaotic handover, threatening death to anyone harming the hostages.
Both he and Defence Minister Israel Katz stated they had ordered a pause in the releases of prisoners “until the safe exit of our hostages in the next phases is guaranteed.” The prime minister’s office later indicated that mediators had pledged to ensure the safe passage of hostages during future handovers.
Buses arrived later in the West Bank city of Ramallah, delivering some of the 110 Palestinian prisoners set to be freed as part of the phased agreement that ended over 15 months of conflict in the coastal territory on 19 January.
