Israel and Hamas will make their fourth exchange of prisoners for the captives of the Gaza ceasefire on Saturday with the Palestinian group planned for three Israeli captives in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
“The number updated in prisoners who will be released tomorrow is 183,” the spokesman for the Palestinian prisoners, Amani Sarahneh said Friday after having previously announced that 90 prisoners are released.
The plaid group published two name lists planned for its release on Saturday. The first included 72 prisoners arrested before the attacks on October 7, 2023 led by Hamas against Israel.
A second list of prisoners to be released contained 111 names of people from Gaza detained after the attacks, which sparked the war on Palestinian territory.
Friday, in a previous declaration on Telegram, the army wing of Hamas, the Qassam brigades, appointed the three Israeli captives who will be released as a Israeli-French citizen of Kalderon, Israeli citizen Yarden Bibas and Israeli-American Keith Keith Siegel.
Bibas, 34, is Kfir’s father, who was nine months old when the family was taken by Hamas in October 2023, and Ariel, who was four years old at the time.
There was no Israeli confirmation on the fate of KFIR, Ariel or their mother, Shiri.
But Hamas said in late 2023 that the children and their mother were killed by an Israeli bombardment in the first months of the Gaza War.
Siegel, currently in the fifties, was taken to captivity with his wife, Aviva, who was released by Hamas in the first captive prisoners exchange in November 2023.
Kalderon, also in their fifties, was removed by Hamas with his two children, Erez and Sahar. The children were also released in this first exchange.
Laura Khan of Tel Aviv Tribune, reporting from Amman, Jordan, because Tel Aviv Tribune had been forbidden to operate in Israel, said the office of the Israeli Prime Minister said he had received and accepted the list.
She said that the liberation of Bibas would be considered particularly symbolic and important in Israel.
“It is interesting for two reasons. The first is that there was a point of collision between Israel and Hamas in these negotiations, and it was to release men under the age of 50. At first, Hamas did not want to do it. They first wanted to release civilians, women and young people, but they then decided to (yield) to this point, “she said.
She said the second reason was that the Israelis expected Bibas as well as Siegel and Kalderon were released earlier as part of the first phase of the ceasefire, which entered into force on January 19.
“However, they have not yet been released, and the Israeli forces said in the past that they were concerned about their well-being,” said Khan.
Under the ceasefire of Gaza, 33 captives held by Hamas in Gaza must be released during the first six weeks of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of which have served perpetuity in Israel.
Until now, 15 captives held in Gaza, including five Thai workers, and 400 Palestinian prisoners have been exchanged.
Hamas released three Israelis and five Thai captives on Thursday and Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners after delaying the process after the crowd invaded one of the captive transfer points.
Reporting Al-Rashid from Gaza, Tareq Abu Azzoum of Tel Aviv Tribune said that for many Palestinians in Gaza, the return of Palestinian prisoners is a “deeply symbolic victory” which represents resilience.
But he said that many people were shocked by chaotic scenes around the release of Israeli captives on Thursday.
“This includes the release of Arbel Yehud, who was criticized as completely disorganized and lacking in dignity expected for such sensitive moments,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked criticism in his country for not having sealed a prisoner contract in captivity earlier in war after the security failure that allowed the fighters led by Hamas Browse the border and the storm of Gaza-Israel near the Israeli communities.
But there has also been the opposition to the current agreement, which, according to some criticisms in Israel, leaves the fate of most captives in balance and standing Hamas as a dominant Gaza entity.
At least 1,139 people were killed and more than 200 were removed from the attacks led by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023. The military response of Israel killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Ministry of the Enclave health.
About half of the captives were released in November 2023 in the previous truce alone, and others were found dead or alive during the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
More and more talks on the implementation of the second stage of the current truce, which should start on March 1, aim to open the way to the release of more than 60 other captives, including men of military age , and a complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.
If that succeeds, a formal end of the War of Israel in Gaza could follow the talks on the Mammoth Challenge to rebuild the Palestinian enclave.