Israel and Hamas will carry out their fourth prisoners-for-captives swap of the Gaza ceasefire on Saturday with the Palestinian group set to free three Israeli captives in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
In a statement on Telegram on Friday, the armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, named the three captives as Israeli-French citizen Ofer Kalderon, Israeli citizen Yarden Bibas and Israeli-American Keith Siegel.
Bibas, 34, is the father of Kfir, who was nine months old when the family was taken by Hamas in October 2023, and Ariel, who was four at the time.
There has been no Israeli confirmation on the fates 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 early months of the Gaza war.
Siegel, currently in his 50s, was taken captive with his wife, Aviva, who was released by Hamas in the first captives-for-prisoners exchange in November 2023.
Kalderon, also in his 50s, was abducted by Hamas with his two children, Erez and Sahar. The children were also released in that first exchange.
Al Jazeera’s Laura Khan, reporting from Amman, Jordan, because Al Jazeera has been banned from operating in Israel, said the Israeli prime minister’s office said it has received and accepted the list.
She said Bibas’s release is going to be viewed as particularly symbolic and important in Israel.
“He’s interesting for two reasons. One is that there was a sticking point between Israel and Hamas in these negotiations, and that was whether to release men under 50. At first, Hamas didn’t want to do that. They wanted to release civilians, women and youth first, but then they decided to [yield] to that point,” she said.
She said the second reason was that Israelis had expected Bibas, as well as Siegel and Kalderon, to be released earlier as part of the first phase of the ceasefire, which took effect on January 19.
“However, they haven’t yet been released, and Israeli forces have said in the past that they are concerned about their wellbeing,” Khan said.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Media Office said 90 Palestinian prisoners, including nine serving life sentences and 81 serving long-term sentences, are to be released on Saturday as part of the swap.
Under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire, 33 captives held by Hamas in Gaza are to be freed in the first six weeks of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been serving life sentences in Israel.
So far, 15 captives held in Gaza, including five Thai workers, and 400 Palestinian prisoners have been exchanged.
On Thursday, Hamas released three Israelis and five Thai captives and Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners after delaying the process after crowds swarmed one of the captive handover points.
Reporting from al-Rashid Street in Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said that for many Palestinians in Gaza, the return of the Palestinian detainees is a “deeply symbolic victory” that represents resilience.
But he said many people were shocked by the chaotic scenes around the release of Israeli captives on Thursday.
“This includes the release of Arbel Yehud, which was criticised as completely disorganised and lacking the dignity expected during such sensitive moments,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn criticism in his country for not having sealed a captive-prisoner deal earlier in the war after the security failure that enabled Hamas-led fighters to burst across the Gaza-Israel boundary and storm nearby Israeli communities.
But there has also been opposition to the current deal, which some critics in Israel have said leaves the fate of most of the captives in the balance and Hamas still standing as Gaza’s dominant entity.
At least 1,139 people were killed and more than 200 were abducted in the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel’s military response has killed more than 47,000 Palestinian people in Gaza, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health.
About half the captives were released in November 2023 during the only previous truce, and others have been recovered dead or alive during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
More talks on the implementation of the second stage of the current truce, due to begin on March 1, are meant to open the way to the release of more than 60 other captives, including men of military age and a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.
If that succeeds, a formal end to Israel’s war in Gaza could follow along with talks on the mammoth challenge of reconstructing the Palestinian enclave.
