The next release of hostages by Hamas is to take place this Saturday, February 1. According to Israel, three people should be released, including one of the French hostages.
Hamas and Israel set the date of the next release of hostages this Saturday, February 1. The Islamist group is supposed to release three people according to information from the Hebrew state which revealed the identities of the expected hostages. Among them is Ofer Kalderon, one of the last two Franco-Israeli hostages to be retained in the Gaza Strip. The 54 -year -old man was abducted during the attack on October 7, 2023 in the Kibbutz Nir Oz with his two children, Erez, 12, and Sahar, 16. The two teenagers were released during the first truce in November 2023 and have been waiting for their father’s return for more than a year.
Two other men will have to be released at the same time from Ofer Kalderon this Saturday according to the list communicated by Israel: Keith Siegel aged 65 and Yarden Bibas 35 years old. If the liberation of three men suggest that no more women is held hostage by Hamas Le Parisien recalls that Yarden Bibas’ family was also kidnapped by the Islamist group and that neither his wife Shiri, nor his children aged 5 and 2 years have not been released. Are they part of the liberable people during the first phase of the truce? Theoretically, children and women were to be the first people released by Hamas. Their absence of previous liberations question and raises questions about their state of health.
If one of the Franco-Israeli hostages must be released, no details have been given concerning the second and last captive French national, Ohad Yahalomi. Aged 50, he was also kidnapped at the Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas attack during which he was injured in the leg. His son, also kidnapped for the Islamist group, was released at the same time as the children of Ofer Kalderon.
At least 8 hostages of deceased Hamas
In total, 15 hostages have been released by Hamas since the start of the second truce in Gaza. And 8 of them, more than half, were returned to the Israeli authorities on Thursday, January 30. It was the last two hostages, the soldier Agam Berger and the Civil Arbel Yehud, an 80 -year -old man and five Thai nationals. All the hostages were taken care of by the Red Cross to their release to ensure their state of health.
The Israeli government spokesman announced on January 27 that 8 of the 33 liberatable hostages during the first phase of ceasefire died. “Families were informed of the situation of their relatives” before the return of the remains, he said. The Israeli army had anticipated the death of certain hostages, still promising to bring bodies back to families, but it had made a less important estimate of the number of deaths.
If losses are to be deplored among the hostages more than a year after their abduction, the hostages made alive appeared in good shape before their delivery to the Red Cross and the Israeli authorities. When they are released, hostages are taken care of in a hospital to ensure their health. The four women released on January 25 are in a “stable state”, like the three released a week rather.
On the Palestinian side, 200 prisoners were released by Israel on January 25 – 121 were sentenced to perpetuity and 79 in long sentences. Most of them have been transferred by bus to Ramallah, to the West Bank. 16 others were brought to the Gaza Strip, and 70 were expelled to Egypt. After having passed through this country, these former prisoners “will choose Algeria, Turkey or Tunisia,” said Amin Choumane, head of the High Palestinian Committee for the follow -up of the affairs of prisoners and prisoners released, in remarks cited by cited by The world. The truce agreement also provides for the return of the Palestinians to the north of the Gaza Strip and these trips began this Monday, January 27 after the negotiations. Finally, between Thursday, January 30 and Saturday, February 1, 110 Palestinian prisoners must be released.
Latest updates
14:37 – Rafah’s crossing point must open on Saturday
The exchange of prisoners between Israel and Hamas on Saturday should lead to the opening of Rafah’s passage, according to a source from Hamas to AFP. This crossing point is between Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and Egypt. This decision should allow the evacuation of wounded “under the cease-fire agreement”.
13:11 – The words of Ofer Kalderon’s family
The family of Ofer Kalderon – Hadas and the Gaya, Rotem, Sahar and Erez children confirmed that they had received the news in a press release. They say they welcome information with “an immense joy mixed with paralyzing anxiety” and wait to see their loved one come back to really believe it: “We look forward to being able to finally find Ofer. As long as it is not in our arms , we will not dare to believe it.
11:55 – Who is the second and last Franco -Israeli hostage in Hamas?
If Ofer Kalderon is actually released by Hamas, then there will be only one Franco-Israeli among the hostages still in the hands of a jihadist group: Ohad Yahalomi. The man is 50 years old and also has a kidnapped state at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023 with his 12 -year -old son Eitan. The young boy was released during the first truce in Gaza in November 2023 at the same time as the children of Ofer Kalderon. Regarding the state of health of Ohad Yahalomi, we know little but the man had been injured in the leg during the attack on October 7.
11:36 – Two other men also on the list of liberable hostages
In addition to Ofer Kalderon, two other men must be released by Hamas this Saturday after more than 15 months of detentions: it is Keith Siegel, 65, and Yarden Bibas, 34. The latter would be the first member of his family to be released according to The Parisian Who specifies that the wife and the children of the man, aged 5 and 2, have also been abducted and have since been retained in captivity.
11:26 – The release of one of the Franco -Israeli hostages announced
Hamas communicated the number and names of the hostages that must be released this Saturday, February 1. According to information from Israel, one of the Franco-Israeli hostages appears on the list of the three people expected. The 54 -year -old man is one of the last two French hostages to be held in the Gaza Strip. He had been removed during the October 7 attack of Le Kibbutz de Nir Oz with his two children. The latter had been released in November 2023, after a month of captivity, during the first truce in Gaza.
What this truce agreement contains
The truce between Israel and Hamas, the second since the attack on October 7, 2023, began on Sunday January 19, 2025 at 11:15 am (10:15 am French time), three hours late, Hamas recognizing a setback “for technical reasons on the ground “. In the process, the first hostages were released: three women – Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher – were exchanged for 90 Palestinian prisoners. On Saturday, January 25, four other hostages were released by Hamas: Karina Arif, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag.
Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of an agreement which would have three according to the Qatari Prime Minister who participated in the negotiations. This phase consists in the exchange of part of the hostages and prisoners at more or less regular intervals for six weeks. In total, this concerns 33 Israeli hostages and 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. The first part of the truce also provides for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from certain corridors and spaces to allow the return of Gazaouis civilians. “A delivery of humanitarian aid everywhere in the Gaza Strip allowing the entry of basic necessities, especially for displaced people who have lost their accommodation following the war, as well as the rehabilitation of hospitals, health centers And others “are also on the program for this first phase.
The phases two and three remain unclear at this stage. They “will be finalized when implementing the first phase,” said the Prime Minister. The truce is therefore an opportunity to continue the negotiations between the two parties to the conflict, in particular those on new exchanges of hostages and prisoners. Hamas and Israel would have finally agreed on the release of 296 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life during the next phase, of which 236 must be deported, either to Qatar or in Turkey.
Washington, the main ally of Israel, like the other members of the G7, thus encouraged the belligerents to go further and negotiate a lasting peace in a published statement on January: “We are urging all parties to negotiate in constructively The subsequent phases of the agreement, to guarantee its full implementation and the final end of hostilities “. But nothing guarantees the success of the next negotiations, any more than a final cease-fire. The Israeli government has accepted this agreement to release the hostages, but said its desire to regain the fight until the extermination of Hamas.