Ikram Kouachi
31 January 2025•Update: 31 January 2025
ANKARA
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced the names of three Israeli hostages set for release on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel.
In a Friday statement, Abu Ubeida, the group's spokesperson, said: “As part of the Al-Aqsa Flood prisoner exchange deal, Al-Qassam Brigades have decided to release the following Israeli captives on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025: Ofer Calderon, Keith Samuel Siegel, and Yarden Bibas.”
Under phase one f the deal, which is to last 42 days, 33 Israeli captives will be released in exchange for an estimated 1,700-2,000 Palestinian detainees.
Hamas freed three Israeli and five Thai hostages in Gaza on Thursday, while Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners. It was the third exchange of its kind since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect on Jan. 19.
Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
