Israel and Hamas should start next week to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire, which provides for the release of the remaining hostages and the extension of the truce for an indefinite period.
The Israeli hostage family released Ofer Kalderon thanked the French government on Sunday and US President Donald Trump for bringing their loved one home.
“”OFER returned home after 484 days of hell. We had the privilege of hugging it again in our arms“Said Sharon Kalderon, sister-in-law of Ofer Kalderon, during declarations at the Sheba Medical Center, in the center of Israel, where Ofer is neat.
Nissan Kalderon, Ofer Kalderon’s brother, said: “Ithere, and we have a long and difficult healing path before us “.
Ofer Kalderon, 54, a Franco-Israeli citizen, was released on Saturday with the American-Israeli Keith Siegel and the Argentino-Israeli Yarden Bibas.
He had been captured in the Kibbutz Nir Oz. His adolescent children, Sahar and Erez, and his ex-wife, Hadas, were also kidnapped, but they were released during a week’s ceasefire in 2023.
Hamas released three hostages in the Gaza Strip on Saturday and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners during the fourth series of exchanges as part of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
The first phase of the truce, lasting six weeks, provides for the release of 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners, as well as the return of the Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip and the increase in humanitarian aid in the devastated territory.
Israel and Hamas must start next week negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire, which provides for the release of the remaining hostages and the extension of the truce for an indefinite period. The war could resume in early March if no agreement is concluded.
