Alert – Hamas release three more Israeli hostages including father of boys, four and nine months old, who were youngest hostages and who terror group said were killed along with their mother in Israeli airstike

The father of the youngest hostages taken on October 7 has been released from the clutches of Hamas – although no update has been given on his missing children and wife.

Yarden Bibas is the father of baby Kfir, who was only nine months old when he was kidnapped, and Ariel, who was just four at the time of the attack. 

There was no word on the fate of Kfir and Ariel, or on their mother Shiri, who was taken at the same time. Hamas said in late 2023 that they had been killed by Israeli bombardment, but Israel has not officially confirmed their deaths.

Bibas was released to the Red Cross in a ceremony in the city of Khan Younis early this morning alongside Ofer Kalderon, a French-Israeli dual national, in the latest stage of the phased exchange of hostages between the embattled regions.

Each climbed on a stage and waved to onlookers. Armed Hamas militants formed a line leading to the stage in an orderly handover, a contrast to the chaotic crowds that had surrounded hostages during a handover Thursday, angering Israel. 

U.S.-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel was later handed over to the Red Cross at Gaza Port. He was seen in a video released by Hamas last year and his wife was released in the first hostage-for-prisoner exchange in November 2023.

Ofer Kalderon’s two children Erez and Sahar, abducted alongside him, were also released in the first exchange. Reuniting with his father and sister, video showed him clinging to them as he appeared to sob.

Israel is expected to transfer 182 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, Hamas said,  while wounded Palestinians are expected to be allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt through the Rafah crossing. When it opened, a group of 50 sick and wounded Palestinian children crossed for treatment.

Yarden Bibas is the father of baby Kfir, who was only nine months old when he was kidnapped, and Ariel, who was just four at the time of the attack

Collect picture from the Bibas family of Baby Kfir Bibas, and mother Shiri, brother Ariel, and father Yarden, held hostage in Gaza

Yarden Bibas, 34, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis

Ofer Kalderon, a French-Israeli dual national, was released in the latest stage of the phased exchange of hostages between the embattled regions

Ofer Kalderon holds up a sign with a heart symbol drawn on it, as he travels by helicopter to hospital

U.S.-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel was later handed over to the Red Cross at Gaza Port, live television footage showed

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. 

Hamas previously claimed that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were killed in an Israeli bombing. 

Israel said it was assessing the allegation in November 2023, but has so far not confirmed the mother and sons’ deaths.

Terror group Hamas released a horrific video at the time showing Yarden breaking down after being told that his wife and sons were dead.

Hamas did not offer proof to back up its claims and Israel’s Defence Forces blasted the sick video as ‘psychological terror’. 

In a TV interview in June, then-Israeli minister Benny Gantz suggested that the government knew what had happened to the Bibas family, but that it could not provide details yet. 

Israel has not officially confirmed the deaths of the two boys and their mother, but has expressed ‘grave concern’ for their fate. 

There have been no proof-of-life videos shared of Shiri or her sons since their abduction on October 7, 2023.

Horrific video of the mother and her two young boys being taken away by the terrorists was met with horror worldwide due to her visible distress.

The image of the two young boys being carried by their weeping mother, Shiri, as they were marched from their homes was one of the most striking to be published in the early days of the Israel-Hamas war

Kfir Bibas, then just nine months old, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists stormed the Nir Oz Kibbutz in southern Israel where Kfir lived with his older brother Ariel, their mother Shiri and father Yarden

Four-year-old Ariel was also taken captive as his family members hold out hope that he is alive 

Bullet holes cover the bedroom wall of hostage Ariel Bibas, 4, at his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel

The truce, which began Jan. 19, is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Hamas militant group.

The fragile deal has held for nearly two weeks, halting the fighting and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.

Hamas said this week that only 25 of the 33 hostages it plans to release are still alive. They will be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the truce’s first six weeks.

The 33 names on the list are women, the Bibas family children, men aged over 50, and unwell and injured men.

Israel has accused Hamas of ‘psychological terror’ for naming the hostages but not actually confirming whether they are alive.

Whether hostages were alive or dead inside Gaza has been a heartbreaking question for waiting families who have pushed Israel’s government to reach a deal to free them, fearing that time was running out.

Ofer Kalderon is reunited with his family at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel

Family of Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon react as they watch the broadcast of him being released from Hamas captivity

Released Israeli hostage Aviva Siegel embraces her son as she reacts to a footage of her husband, Keith Siegel, being handed over to the Red Cross

The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz

Yarden Bibas together with his sister and father aboard a military helicopter on their way to Sheba hospital in Ramat Gan

Watching from Kfra Saba, southern Israel, the family could be seen cheering and breaking down in tears as they watched the sight

The family embraced tightly as the news that they had been waiting more than a year to hear finally came through

Around 90 hostages are still being held, and Israeli authorities believe between a third and a half of them were killed in the initial attack or died in captivity.

An Israeli general revealed Monday that some of the hostages released from Gaza so far during the ceasefire had been held in Hamas tunnels for up to eight months straight, deprived of daylight and with little to no human contact. 

Three Israeli civilians and four soldiers – all women – have been released so far in the ceasefire, and in return, Israel has released 290 Palestinian convicts and detainees.

‘Some of them told us that they’ve been in the past few months, that they’ve been through the entire time, in tunnels, underground,’ deputy chief of the Israeli military’s medical corps, Colonel Dr. Avi Banov, told journalists online.

‘Some of them were alone through the entire time they were there,’ he said. 

‘Those who said they were together were in better shape.’

The hostages said their treatment improved in the days leading up to their release, Banov said, when they were allowed to shower, change their clothes and received better food. 

(Left to Right) Israeli hostages Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev stand on a stage before being delivered to the representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross

A former Palestinian prisoner released by Israel is greeted by a relative upon his arrival in Ramallah

Another is cheered upon his arrival after arriving on buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross

A former Palestinian prisoner released by Israel is is hugged by relatives as he returns home

Members of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades gather in Gaza City to release Israeli hostages as part of a hostage swap deal between Hamas and Israel

They appeared to be in good condition and smiling in videos on the days of their release.

Citing the hostages’ privacy, Banov would not say whether any of the seven bore signs of torture or abuse.

Some had not received proper treatment for wounds sustained when they were captured during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and some showed signs of ‘mild starvation’, Banov said.

The ceasefire reached earlier this month after more than a year of negotiations is aimed at ending the 15-month war, which was triggered by the initial 2023 Hamas attack, as well as freeing hostages still held in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The first phase of the ceasefire runs until early March, but the second and far more difficult phase has yet to be negotiated. 

Talks on phase two are set to begin next Monday.

Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without an end to the war, while Israel has threatened to resume its offensive until Hamas is destroyed.

The reopening of the Rafah crossing 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. 

A member of the Red Cross team signs documents before Palestinian militant group Hamas fighters handover two Israeli hostages in Khan Yuni

A woman reacts as she watches on a screen at hostage square in Tel Aviv, the release of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip

Israelis gather at Hostages Square to watch the hostage swap deal between Hamas and Israel on giant screens in Tel Aviv

Members of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades gather in Gaza City to release Israeli hostages as part of a hostage swap deal between Hamas and Israel

Egyptian television showed an Palestinian Red Cross ambulance pulling up to the crossing gate, and several children were brought out on stretchers and transferred to ambulances on the Egyptian side. 

In Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv, Kalderon’s family hugged and cheered as they saw the images of him climbing onto the stage in Khan Younis and being transferred to the Red Cross.

‘Ofer is coming home!’ they said, arms lifted to the sky.

Kalderon’s two children, Erez and Sahar, were abducted alongside him and released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Family members said they weren’t able to recover from their ordeal until their father returned.

‘We are sorry it took so long, Ofer,’ said Eyal Kalderon. ‘We will soon be a whole family again. We hope other families will soon feel like this, until the last family.’

Keith Siegel, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, along with his wife, Aviva Siegel. She was released during the 2023 ceasefire and has waged a high-profile campaign to free Keith and other hostages.

There were sighs of relief and cheers in a living room where members of the kibbutz watched Siegel’s release. Many of those in the room were family friends, who applauded upon seeing his face, while some teared up. 

Crowds gathered as the hostages were ceremoniously brought onto a stage by masked Hamas gunmen

People watching a live stream report on a big screen on the release of three Israeli hostages, Keith Siegel, Ofer Calderon and Yarden Bibas

Israelis react as they watch a broadcast of the release of American-Israeli Keith Siegel

Siegel is one of the highest-profile hostages, now a household name in Israel after his wife Aviva Siegel, also captured in the Hamas attack, mounted a public campaign to bring him home after her own release from captivity in November 2023. 

Speaking after his release, his wife Aviva said: ‘The great day has arrived. Yes! I am happy. I am happy. there is no one happier than me. I am ready with everything and I’m going to meet him!’

The dozens of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel on Saturday include people serving lengthy and life sentences.

Israel and Hamas are set next week to begin negotiating a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for releasing the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.

Israel says it is still committed to destroying Hamas, even after the militant group reasserted its rule over Gaza within hours of the latest ceasefire. A key far-right partner in Netanyahu’s coalition is calling for the war to resume after the ceasefire’s first phase.

Hamas says it won’t release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.