According to the reports on Friday (31 January), Hamas has announced that in the next exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, it will release three individuals, including Yarden Bibas, the father of the youngest hostages taken during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Bibas’s son, Kfir, was only nine months old when he was kidnapped, and his other child, Ariel, was four years old at the time. The hostages will be released on Saturday (1 February), according to a statement from a spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, Abu Obeida, shared via Telegram.
Also included in the upcoming release are Keith Siegel, a dual U.S. citizen, and Ofer Kalderon. Siegel was captured alongside his wife, Aviva, while Kalderon’s two children, Erez and Sahar, were also taken in the same attack. Aviva Siegel was released in a previous exchange in November 2023, and Kalderon’s children were freed in that same deal.
The fate of Kfir, Ariel, and their mother Shiri, who were all taken in the same attack, remains uncertain. Hamas had previously claimed that Kfir and Ariel, along with their mother, were killed in Israeli bombardment during the conflict. This claim has not been independently verified, leaving their status unclear as of now.
The upcoming release of these hostages follows a series of exchanges between Israel and Hamas, which have been part of ongoing efforts to negotiate the release of individuals held by both sides. The case of the Bibas family, in particular, highlights the deep emotional toll of the hostage crisis, with the family and the public eagerly awaiting updates on the fate of the youngest victims of the attack.
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