Three Israeli Hostages Released in Exchange for Dozens of Palestinians and Opening of Rafah Crossing

In the fourth round of hostage exchanges with Palestinian prisoners, the extremist group Hamas delivered three more Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza on Saturday, February 1. Ofer Calderon and Yarden Bibas were two of the hostages who were first taken by Hamas members to a stage in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and then released. Shortly after, Keith Siegel, a 65-year-old American-Israeli citizen, was handed over to Red Cross officials who act as intermediaries for the hostages. The Israeli army confirmed in the early afternoon hours on Saturday that all three hostages had entered Israeli territory. In response to the release of the three hostages, a group of families of hostages and missing persons from the Hamas attack in Israel described the continued release of hostages as 'a glimmer of light in the darkness.' Families of the hostages have been present in the streets every week since the start of the Gaza war, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to make greater efforts to free all hostages. Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, also expressed happiness on social media about the release of Ofer Calderon, who also holds French citizenship, 'after 483 days.' Yarden Bibas returns home while there is no information or trace of his wife and two young children, who were taken hostage on October 7, 2023, a point noted by the Israeli government’s social media account on Saturday. The release of three Israelis and five Thai hostages from Hamas was also reported, along with the release of 110 Palestinian prisoners. Shortly after the Israeli hostages arrived in the country, it was reported that the first group of 183 Palestinian prisoners, who were announced to be exchanged for these hostages, arrived in Ramallah. While former Palestinian prisoners were greeted with cheers and joy from the people of Ramallah, in another piece of news, the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza was also opened to allow Palestinian patients to be transferred to Egypt for treatment. These patients include children suffering from cancer and heart diseases, who are being transported by bus organized by the World Health Organization to Egypt. The Rafah crossing had been closed since May 2024. Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and Europe, had also released eight hostages, including three Israelis and five Thais, two days earlier on Thursday, January 30, as part of a ceasefire agreement with Israel. According to the agreement between the parties, Israel releases 30 Palestinian prisoners for each civilian hostage and 50 Palestinians for each Israeli soldier. The 16-month war in Gaza began after the extremist group Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in an attack on southern Israel. Following Israel's military response to this Hamas attack, Palestinian sources report that 47,460 residents of Gaza have been killed and 111,580 others injured. This war has also displaced more than two million people and turned the Gaza Strip into a pile of rubble.