Hamas to Release Father of Youngest Hostages in Next Prisoner Exchange
In a recent announcement, Palestinian terror group Hamas revealed that they would be releasing the father of the youngest hostages taken during their attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The hostages, including a dual US citizen, will be part of the next exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The individuals set to be released include Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, and Ofer Kalderon, with the handover scheduled for Saturday, as stated by Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida on his Telegram channel.
Yarden Bibas is the father of baby Kfir, who was only nine months old at the time of the kidnapping, along with Ariel, who was four years old during the attack.
However, there has been no information provided regarding the fate of Kfir, Ariel, or their mother Shiri, who were all taken captive together. Hamas previously claimed that they had been killed by Israeli bombardment during the Gaza war.
Video footage of the abduction showed a distressed Shiri holding her children in a blanket as they were taken into captivity by the terrorists.
Yarden, who was 34 at the time of the attack, was also captured and seen in a video with a head injury from hammer blows.
Another hostage, Israeli-American Keith Siegel, was taken alongside his wife Aviva. Aviva was released in a previous exchange in November 2023.
Ofer Kalderon, along with his children Erez and Sahar, were also part of the initial prisoner exchange, where the children were released.
Recently, Hamas released three Israeli and five Thai hostages in Gaza, while Israel reciprocated by freeing 110 Palestinian prisoners. The process was temporarily delayed due to overcrowding at one of the handover points.
As per the cease-fire agreement that ended months of conflict, a total of 33 hostages held by Palestinian terrorists are set to be released in the coming weeks in exchange for numerous Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are serving life sentences in Israel.
