JERUSALEM: Hamas freed three Israeli prisoners on Saturday in exchange for more than 180 Palestinians released from Israeli custody in the fourth such swap under a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas were paraded on stage by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis. American-Israeli Keith Siegel was freed in a similar ceremony at Gaza City’s port in the north.

The Israeli military later confirmed that all three were back in Israel.

Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum hailed their release as “a ray of light in the darkness”.

Later in the day, a bus carrying released Pale­stin­ian prisoners was greeted by a cheering crowd in the West Bank city of Rama­llah, while three others were met by hundreds of well-wishers in Khan Yunis.

In Ramallah, the bus struggled to make its way through the crowds as it arrived from the Israeli-run Ofer Prison.

Several of the freed inm­ates were hoisted onto the shoulders of well-wishers, including an elderly man who raised his crutches over his head in triumph.

“I need a great deal of composure to control mys­elf, to steady my nerves, to absorb this overwhelming moment,” said one released prisoner, Ata Abdelghani, as he prepared to meet his now 10-year-old twin sons for the first time.

Hamas began releasing prisoners on January 19 under the terms of the ceasefire deal with Israel. Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have so far handed over 18 prisoners to the International Committee of the Red Cross in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians, many of them women and minors.

A total of 183 prisoners were freed on Saturday, all of them Palestinian except for one Egyptian.

Hamas sources said a fifth prisoner exch­a­nge would take place next Saturday.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2025