Red Cross vehicles arrive in southern Gaza location ahead of expected hostage release

KHAN YOUNIS: Red Cross vehicles arrived Saturday in a location in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis where Hamas is set to release hostages as part of a fragile agreement that has paused fighting after more than 15 months of war.

A total of three male hostages are set to be released Saturday, expected to occur in two separate locations in the Gaza Strip, in return for the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The hostages to be released, according to Hamas and Israel, are: Yarden Bibas, 35; American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65; and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54. All were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war.

It will be the fourth swap of hostages for prisoners since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19. Fifteen hostages and hundreds of prisoners have already been freed in that time.

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 Friday to prepare for the reopening of the crossing.

The reopening would mark another key step in the first phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners, the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory.