90 Palestinians to be freed Saturday in exchange for 3 Israelis

Hamas's armed wing released the names of three Israeli captives to be freed on Saturday in the fourth hostage-prisoner swap of the Gaza ceasefire.

Palestinian militants have so far freed 15 hostages since the ceasefire took effect on January 19.

Israel said it has received the list of hostages expected to be released from Hamas captivity tomorrow. "A detailed response will be provided after reviewing the list and updating the families," the prime minister's office said in a statement on Friday.

The Hostage and Missing Families said the three captives to be released are Yarden Bibas, Keith Seigel, who also has U.S. citizenship, and Ofer Kalderon, who also has French nationality.

Israel is to free 90 inmates on Saturday.

"Ninety prisoners will be released tomorrow in exchange for the three Israeli detainees, nine of whom are serving life sentences and 81 of whom have long sentences," Palestinian Prisoners' Club spokeswoman Amani Sarahneh said.

Yarden Bibas was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Photos taken during the abduction appear to show him wounded. His wife, Shiri, and two boys, Ariel and Kfir, were also taken captive at the kibbutz. The boys, who were 4 and under 1 year old when they were captured, were the youngest hostages.

News that Bibas will be released has brought renewed attention to the uncertain fate of Bibas' family. Hamas has claimed that Shiri Bibas and the two boys were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said recently that the military was seriously concerned about the fate of the mother and her two boys.

Keith Siegel, an American Israeli originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza along with his wife, Aviva Siegel. Aviva Siegel was released during a brief ceasefire period in November 2023, and since then has waged a high-profile campaign to free Keith and the other hostages remaining in Gaza.

Kalderon, a French-Israeli hostage, was captured by the militants from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his two children. His ex-wife, Hadas, was also taken captive. The two children and Hadas Kalderon were released during the hostage exchange in November.