Gaza ceasefire sees its smoothest exchange yet of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The ceasefire in Gaza saw its smoothest exchange yet of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, and the crucial Rafah border crossing reopened two days before discussions on the truce's far more difficult second phase begin.

And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, giving him a chance to showcase his ties to Israel’s closest ally and press his case for what should come next after 15 months of war.

The ceasefire's second phase calls for the release of remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce in the deadliest and most destructive war ever between Israel and Hamas. The fighting could resume in early March if an agreement isn't reached.

Hamas on Saturday freed three male hostages, and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth such exchange. Another exchange is planned for next Saturday.

Militants handed Argentinian-Israeli Yarden Bibas and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon to Red Cross officials in the southern city of Khan Younis, while American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, looking pale and thin, was handed over in Gaza City.

All three were taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the war. Eighteen hostages have now been released since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19.

The latest releases were quick and orderly, in contrast to chaotic scenes on Thursday when armed militants appeared to struggle to hold back a crowd. On Saturday, the militants stood in rows as the hostages walked onto a stage and waved.

Hamas has sought to show it remains in control in Gaza even though a number of its military leaders have been killed.

A bus later departed Ofer Military Prison with over two dozen Palestinian prisoners bound for the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Jubilant crowds cheered and hoisted the prisoners on their shoulders. Many appeared frail and thin.

The Israeli Prison Authority said all 183 prisoners set for release had been freed. In another sign of progress in the ceasefire, they included 111 who were arrested after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack but who weren't involved in it. They had been held without trial and were released to Gaza. Seven serving life sentences were transferred to Egypt.

Joy and relief, but fears for those still held

Siegel, 65, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, along with his wife, Aviva, who was released during a brief 2023 ceasefire.

There were sighs of relief and cheers as kibbutz members watched Siegel’s release.

“You can see that he’s lost a lot of weight, but still he’s walking and talking and you can feel that it’s still him. And one of the first things he told us is that he’s still vegan,” said Siegel’s niece, Tal Wax.

The release of Bibas, 35, brought renewed attention to the fate of his wife, Shiri, and their two sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were 4 years old and 9 months old when they were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Kfir was the youngest of the roughly 250 people who were taken captive on Oct. 7, and his plight came to represent the helplessness and anger in Israel.

Israel expressed “grave concern” for Bibas’ wife and children and pleaded with negotiators to provide information. Hamas has said they were killed in an Israeli airstrike, but Israel has not confirmed it.

After his release, Bibas closed his eyes as his father, Eli, and sister Ofri hugged him and cried. “Sweetheart,” his father said.

“A quarter of our heart has returned to us,” the Bibas family said in a statement.

Kalderon, 54, was also captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His two children, Erez and Sahar, were taken alongside him and released during the earlier ceasefire.

“I am here. I am here. I didn’t give up,” Kalderon said as they embraced.

There were similar scenes among the released Palestinians.

“Certainly, it’s an indescribable feeling, and undoubtedly a mixed feeling of both sadness and joy, as we have left our brothers in captivity,” said Mohammad Kaskus, who had been sentenced to 25 years over attacks against Israelis.

Yaser Abu Hamad, arrested for involvement in the Islamic Jihad militant group in 2006, found that 20 family members including his mother and sisters had been killed by Israeli airstrikes during the war. He visited their graves.

Palestinians who had been sentenced over their connection to deadly attacks against Israelis described harsh conditions, beatings and other abuse in prison. The Israeli Prison Authority didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ceasefire brings respite to battered Gaza

The ceasefire has held for two weeks, allowing for hundreds of trucks of aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory and for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to shattered homes in northern Gaza.

And on Saturday, 50 sick and wounded Palestinian children were leaving Gaza for treatment through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt as the enclave's sole exit opened for the first time since Israel captured it nine months ago.

During the ceasefire's six-week first phase, 33 Israeli hostages are to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says it has received information from Hamas that eight of those hostages are dead. About 80 hostages remain in Gaza.

“We will not allow you to blow up this deal. We will not allow you to force us back into war or to sentence the hostages left behind to death,” Naama Weinberg, cousin of deceased hostage Itay Svirsky, told a weekly gathering in Tel Aviv, addressing the warring sides.

Israel says it is committed to destroying Hamas. The militant group says it won’t release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack that sparked the war. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory air and ground offensive, over half women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many of the dead were militants.

The Israeli military says it killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters operate in residential neighborhoods.

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Isseid reported from Beitunia, West Bank. Associated Press journalists Moshe Edri at Reim military base, Israel; Paz Bar in Kfar Saba, Israel; and Isabel Debre in Ramallah, the West Bank, contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war