KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip. Saturday saw the smoothest exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners under the ongoing Gaza ceasefire. This exchange comes just ahead of discussions on the truce’s more difficult second phase, as the Rafah border crossing reopened two days prior, marking another key step in the fragile ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, where he aims to solidify ties with Israel’s closest ally and discuss the next steps after 15 months of conflict. The second phase of the ceasefire includes the release of remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce, which holds amid one of the deadliest and most destructive wars between Israel and Hamas. If no agreement is reached, fighting could resume in early March.
On Saturday evening, Netanyahu’s office confirmed that he had spoken with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss the upcoming negotiations. A meeting is scheduled for Monday to kickstart the talks, with Witkoff set to consult other mediators, including Qatar and Egypt.
In the latest hostage exchange, Hamas released three Israeli hostages, while Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners in a fourth such swap. The hostages handed over included Argentinian-Israeli Yarden Bibas, French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, and American-Israeli Keith Siegel. The three were among those captured during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war. Since the ceasefire began on January 19, 18 hostages have been released.
The handover process was notably calmer than Thursday’s chaotic scenes, with militants now lined up to oversee the releases. Bibas and Kalderon were handed over in Khan Younis, while Siegel was released in Gaza City. Siegel, who looked pale and frail, was greeted with relief by members of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where he had been taken hostage along with his wife, Aviva, who was freed earlier in a temporary ceasefire.
Bibas’ release brought attention to his wife, Shiri, and their two children, Ariel and Kfir, who were abducted alongside him. Israel has expressed “grave concern” for their fate, as Hamas has claimed they were killed in an Israeli airstrike, though Israel has not confirmed this. Bibas’ father, Eli, and sister, Ofri, embraced him tearfully after his release. “A quarter of our heart has returned to us,” the Bibas family said.
Kalderon, another hostage freed on Saturday, had his two children released earlier in the ceasefire. Upon his return, he exclaimed, “I am here. I didn’t give up,” as his family embraced him.
For the Palestinians released, the moment was bittersweet. “Certainly, it’s an indescribable feeling, and undoubtedly a mixed feeling of both sadness and joy, as we have left our brothers in captivity,” said Mohammad Kaskus, sentenced to 25 years for attacks on Israelis. Others, such as Yaser Abu Hamad, who had been jailed for involvement with the Islamic Jihad militant group, returned to Gaza to find their families had perished in Israeli airstrikes.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire’s first phase has brought much-needed relief to Gaza. Aid has poured into the region, and the wounded, including 50 Palestinian children, have been able to leave for medical treatment in Egypt via the Rafah border, which opened for the first time since Israeli forces took control of it nine months ago.
In the coming weeks, the release of 33 more Israeli hostages is expected, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. However, Israel has expressed concern about reports from Hamas that eight hostages are dead, leaving around 80 remaining in Gaza.
Naama Weinberg, cousin of the late hostage Itay Svirsky, voiced defiance against the warring parties: “We will not allow you to blow up this deal. We will not allow you to force us back into war or to sentence the hostages left behind to death.”
As the ceasefire holds, Israel remains committed to dismantling Hamas, while the militant group insists on a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before further hostages are freed.
The war has claimed over 47,000 Palestinian lives, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. In return, Israel has lost over 1,200 civilians, mostly in the attack that sparked the conflict. Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties, asserting that the militants operate within residential neighborhoods.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
