Middle East: 3 Israeli hostages released by Hamas
Published February 1, 2025last updated February 1, 2025What you need to know
- Hamas and Israel are carrying out their fourth hostage-for-prisoner exchange of the Gaza ceasefire on Saturday
- All three Israeli hostages have been freed
- Israel released Palestinian prisoners
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Palestinian medical patients begin crossing from Gaza to Egypt via reopened Rafah crossing
This February 1, 2025 blog on the latest developments on Israel, Hamas and the wider Middle East regionhas now been closed.
Egypt's el-Sissi tells Trump the world is counting on him to bring Mideast peace
In a Saturday phone call, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi told US President Donald Trump that the world is counting on him to bring peace to the Middle East.
El-Sissi's office released a statement after the call saying, "the international community is counting on President Trump's ability to reach a permanent and historic peace agreement that ends the conflict that has existed in the region for decades."
Trump, who maintains close ties to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sparked protests in Egypt today with recent comments suggesting Palestinians be "cleaned out" of Gaza and resettled in Egypt.
Protesters in Egypt argue that displacing Palestinians is not a viable longterm solution. Arab leaders, too, decried the plan as threatening "the region's stability." They said it risked expanding the current conflict and undermined the prospects for peace and the coexistence of people in the Middle East.
183 Palestinian detainees released, Red Cross says
Israel has released 183 Palestinian detainees, including 175 who were freed from Israeli detention centers and transferred to Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Saturday.
Seven Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences were transferred to Egypt ahead of their deportation, the Associated Press reported.
With the release of three Israeli hostages, the committee said the fourth phase of the release operations was concluded. In total, 18 hostages have thus far been released, in exchange for 583 Palestinian detainees, the ICRC said.
"The ICRC remains prepared to facilitate further release operations in the coming weeks, and to continue to bring critically needed aid into Gaza," the organization said in a statement.
Some 32 Palestinians arrived in the West Bank to cheering crowds, while three buses carrying over a hundred more arrived in Gaza's southern Khan Younis neighborhood.
The AFP news agency cited the Palestinian Prisoners' Club in Ramallah as saying that 150 of the released Palestinian prisoners were due to be transferred to Gaza.
Arab countries warn against 'displacing' Palestinians
A group of Arab countries released a statement Saturday rejecting "displacement or the encouragement of transferring or extracting of Palestinians from their land in any form or under any circumstances or justifications."
Their statement came after US President Donald Trump suggested that Egypt and Jordan should take in the Palestinians in Gaza, at least on a temporary basis, so that "we just clean out that whole thing."
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates met with Palestinian and Arab League officials in Cairo on Saturday.
Trump's statements sent shockwaves through the region, amid fears that Palestinians would be indefinitely displaced again similarly to what happened in 1948, which Arabs call the "Nakba," or catastrophe.
The Arab statement also welcomed the ceasefire agreement and said it appreciated Washington's "important" role in fulfilling it.
The signatories said they looked forward to working with Trump on "achieving just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, as per the two-state solution."
They also stressed the importance of international support in rebuilding Gaza, and welcomed Egypt's plans to host an international Gaza reconstruction conference, in cooperation with the United Nations.
The Arab countries also threw their weight behind the UN's Palestinians' relief agency (UNRWA), which Israel broke off all contact with and banned as of January 30.
"We confirm the pivotal, indispensable and irreplaceable role that UNRWA plays, and categorically reject any attempts to overstep it or limit its role," the statement read.
Palestinian patients cross into Egypt for first time in months
Palestinian patients seeking medical treatment began crossing into Egypt for the first time in some nine months.
Patients entered through the Rafah border crossing, which is the main southern exit and entry point for Gaza.
It reopened as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal on Saturday for the first time since it was shuttered during an Israeli military operation in May 2024.
The deal allows one-way transport only into Egypt for medical evacuations of injured Palestinians.
Egypt's state-affiliated AlQahera News posted on X a video that shows ambulances entering Egypt via the crossing.
It said 50 Palestinians entered to receive medical treatment.
Health authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip also said 50 patients entered Egypt via the Rafah crossing.
Israel had captured the crossing in May last year, in a move that was condemned by many at the time as it is a key entry point for aid into Gaza.
Israel agreed to partially reopen the crossing for medical transport out of Gaza after Hamas released the last living female hostages they were holding.
Family of released US hostage thanks Trump in statement
The family of released US-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel thanked US President Donald Trump as well as the governments of Israel and the US for seeing through the ceasefire deal which culminated in Siegel's release on Saturday.
"At this very moment, our father is setting foot on the soil of the land of Israel, and we are filled with indescribable excitement," the family said in a press release shared by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
"Finally, after 484 long, terrifying days and nights, full of immense worry for our father, we can breathe again."
The family described the ceasefire deal which secured Siegel's release as "a deal that prioritizes human life and embodies Jewish and Israeli values."
"There are now 79 hostages who are also waiting to be reunited with their loved ones. Our hope rests with you," the family said, addressing Trump.
They also expressed gratitude to security and IDF forces.
Although the hostages are being released under Trump's watch, former US President Joe Biden said on January 15 after the ceasefire was announced that the "plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration."
Israel begins Palestinian prisoner release
A bus carrying some 32 Palestinian prisoners left Ofer Prison in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as Israel began releasing prisoners after the freeing of three hostages earlier on Saturday.
Reuters news agency reported live footage showed buses carrying prisoners arriving in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Saturday's hostages-for-prisoners' swap is the fourth since a ceasefire came into effect some two weeks ago.
A total of 183 Palestinian prisoners were set to be released as part of this exchange.
They include 111 from Gaza who were arrested after the October 7, 2023 attacks and held without trial.
Released hostage Siegel arrives in Israel, IDF says
Keith Siegel, who was released from Hamas captivity in Gaza City earlier on Saturday, crossed into Israelalong with a military escort, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Siegel ,65, was scheduled to undergo an initial medical assessment upon his return.
"The commanders and soldiers of the IDF salute and embrace the returning hostage as he makes his way home to Israel," the IDF statement read.
"He is currently on his way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where he will be reunited with members of his family," it added.
Two hostages released by Hamas en route to hospital, IDF says
Two of the three hostages released by Hamas earlier on Saturday are on their way to hospital in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
"Ofer Kalderon is now taking off in an IAF helicopter to the hospital, where he will reunite with members of his family and receive medical treatment," the IDF said.
The military added that Yardan Bibas was also due to fly to the hospital shortly, alongside his family.
Both Kalderon and Bibas were released together in southern Gaza's Khan Younis earlier Saturday.
Hamas releases 3rd Israeli hostage
Hamas has handed over a third hostage held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attacks.
US-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel was delivered to the Red Cross in Gaza City in the northern area of the strip, the Israeli military said in a statement.
The statement said Siegel was on his way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip.
Originally from North Carolina, Siegel was taken from a Kibbutz alongside his wife Aviva Siegel. The wife was released during the November 2023 ceasefire.
Macron celebrates Kalderon's release after 'unimaginable hell'
French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated on Saturday the release of Israeli-French hostage Ofer Kalderon.
"We share the immense relief and joy of his loved ones after 483 days of unimaginable hell," Macron said in a post on X.
He added that his thoughts were with Ohad Yahalomi, another Israeli-French citizen currently in Hamas captivity, and with his family.
"France is doing everything in its power to secure his immediate release," he said.
Two released hostages arrive back in Israel
Two Israeli hostages released by Hamas were handed over to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Securities Authorities (ISA) after the Red Cross received them in Gaza's southern Khan Younis.
The IDF said the two hostages were on their way back to Israel, "where they will undergo an initial medical assessment."
The military later said in a joint statement with the ISA that they had crossed the border into Israel and were on their way to an initial reception point.
"The commanders and soldiers of the IDF salute and embrace the returning hostages as they make their way home to Israel," the IDF said, adding that it was "prepared to receive an additional hostage in the near future."
Hamas hands over 2 hostages to Red Cross
The Islamist Palestinian militant group Hamas has handed over two Israeli hostages held in Gaza since October 7, 2023 to the Red Cross, as part of a fragile ceasefire deal.
Television footage from Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip showed two hostages being handed over to the Red Cross.
They are Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54.
It is yet unclear when the third hostage, Keith Siegel, who is also a US citizen, will be handed over.
Red Cross vehicles had earlier arrived in Khan Younis to observe the hostages' release. In return, dozens of Palestinians are set to be released from Israeli prisons.
A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the ceasefire's first six weeks.
Rafah crossing to open for medical evacuations from Gaza to Egypt
The Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt is expected to reopen Saturday for medical evacuations, with a group of injured Palestinians expected to be transported across the border for treatment.
Rafah will be opened initially for 50 injured civilians militants and 50 wounded civilians, along with the people escorting them.
The Egyptian Health Ministry said in a statement that it is "ready to provide all medical services for the Palestinian injured people."
The reopening will be monitored by a civilian mission from the European Union.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said on Friday that "the EU's civilian border mission deploys today to the Rafah crossing at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis."
"It will support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care," she said on X.
The crossing has been closed since May 2024 after Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of the border. The crossing serves as one of the main entry points of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Hamas to release 3 Israeli hostages in exchange for 183 Palestinians
Militant groups in Gaza are to release three Israelis in exchange for 183 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
The Israeli hostages are Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, who also holds US citizenship, and Ofer Kalderon, who also has French nationality, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group.
In return for the release of the three Israeli hostages, Israel will release 183 prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group said
This is more than double the initially reported figure of 90.
Saturday's swap is the second hostage exchange this week and the fourth since the ceasefire began.
Since the ceasefire began in mid-January 19, Gaza militants have released 15 hostages after holding them in captivity since their attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
kh,rmt/wmr (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)