The Palestinian group Hamas has released three Israeli captives in two separate handovers, in the latest stage of a gradual exchange under a ceasefire deal reached after 15 months of Israeli attacks on Gaza.
French-Israeli dual 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.
Over an hour later, American-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel was handed over to 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 City, as Kalderon, Bibas and Siegel waved to the crowd of Palestinians at the handover.
Kalderon and Bibas have reached Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical check-up before meeting their families. The fate of Bibas’ wife and two young children, who were also taken captive by Hamas, is still unknown.
As of 0900 GMT, Siegel was being escorted by the Red Cross back to Israel.
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Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from the site of the release in Khan Younis, described the handover as “well-organised” compared with the previous releases.
“The scene is quite incredible, without stampeding observed before. Usually, such handovers 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.
Of them, 111 were taken by Israeli forces in Gaza after October 7, 2023. There are an estimated 4,500 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli prisons – 310 of them held under the so-called “administrative detention” without the right to a trial.
Basil Farraj an analyst from Birzeit University, said the release of the Palestinian prisoners “does not end the brutal conditions” that Palestinian are being subjected to in Israeli jails. He said Palestinians are treated as “sub-human” by Israeli authorities.
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.
Rafah likely to open
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, reporting from Gaza City, said the opening is expected to happen later on Saturday, allowing an initial 50 sick Palestinians to be evacuated from 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 goods to Palestinians in Gaza, Mahmoud said.
Gershon Baskin, an Israeli columnist living in West Jerusalem, noted in an interview with Al Jazeera that there is “very little talk about the opening” of the Rafah crossing within Israel.
The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 killed 1,139 people and took more than 250 captives, according to Israeli figures.
An Israeli military campaign following the Hamas attack destroyed much of the densely populated Gaza Strip and killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
