Two more hostages have arrived in Israel after they were released by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza.
Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon were released to the Red Cross by militants in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, live TV footage of the handover showed.
Another hostage, American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, is expected to be handed over to the Red Cross at a different location – Gaza City to the north – later on Saturday.
Palestinian authorities said that Israel has agreed to release dozens of prisoners on Saturday as part of the fourth round of exchanges during the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The truce, which began on 19 January, is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
The fragile deal has held for nearly two weeks, halting the fighting and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory. A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the truce’s initial six weeks.
The militants released Mr Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Mr Kalderon, 54, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis after each climbed on a stage and waved to onlookers. Both had been abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 that sparked the war.
Armed Hamas militants formed a line leading to the stage after chaotic crowds surrounded hostages during a handover on Thursday, angering Israel.
Mr Bibas is the father of baby Kfir, only nine months old when he was kidnapped on 7 October, and Ariel, who was four at the time of the cross-border attack. Mr Bibas’s wife, Shiri, the mother of the two children, was also taken at the same time.
Shiri, Ariel and Kfir remain unaccounted for amid concerns over their wellbeing, with the release of Mr Bibas marking a painful moment for the large numbers of Israelis and other supporters around the world who have long campaigned for the whole family’s release.
Video of Shiri holding on to her children as she was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen from the Nir Oz kibbutz became an enduring image of the Hamas attack.
Under the latest ceasefire agreement, living women and children were supposed to be freed first, but Ariel and Kfir were the only children being held who were not released in a previous week-long truce in November 2023. Hamas says that Shiri and her two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike early in the conflict. Israel has not confirmed that claim, but last week the military said there were “grave concerns” about what has happened to them.
Israel says it has received information from Hamas that eight of those hostages were either killed during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack or have since died in captivity.
Also on Saturday, wounded Palestinians are expected to be allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt through the Rafah crossing. It had been the only exit point for Palestinians during the war before Israel closed it in May.
A European Union civilian mission was deployed on Friday to prepare for the reopening of the crossing.
The reopening would mark another key step in the first phase of the ceasefire, which alongside the exchange of detainees calls for the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory.