Middle East latest: Hamas frees 3 hostages as part of ceasefire deal

Hamas released three hostages in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel, while Palestinian authorities say Israel has agreed to release dozens of prisoners in the fourth round of exchanges during the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

The six-week phase one truce calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners, as well as the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory.

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.

Palestinian health authorities in Gaza also announced that the long-shuttered Rafah border crossing with Egypt would reopen on Saturday for thousands of Palestinians who desperately need medical care — a breakthrough that signals the ceasefire agreement continues to gain traction.

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Here's the latest:

Hamas hands over U.S.-Israeli hostage

Hamas has handed American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, over to the Red Cross, the third hostage to be released Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel.

Siegel walked onto a stage set up by the sea in Gaza City before militants handed him over to waiting Red Cross officials.

Earlier, the militants released Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, to the Red Cross in similar scenes in the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. All three had been abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war.

Macron hails release of French citizen

French President Emmanuel Macron has hailed the release of French-Israeli citizen Ofer Kalderon, while noting that another French citizen remains a hostage.

''Ofer Kalderon is free! We share the immense relief and joy of his family after 483 days of unimaginable hell," Macron posted on X.

Our thoughts are with Ohad Yahalomi, still in the hands of Hamas, and his family. France is doing everything in its power to secure his immediate release.''

Red Cross vehicles arrive in Gaza City for planned hostage release

Red Cross vehicles have arrived in Gaza City where Hamas is set to release American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, as part of the fourth round of hostage releases in its ceasefire deal with Israel.

Two other hostages — Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54 — were released earlier Saturday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In return for the three, Israel is to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

2 freed hostages return to Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel — Two released hostages, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas, have arrived in Israel and are on their way to an initial reception point. Along the road leading to the military base, small groups of supporters waited for the convoys waving Israeli flags.

The two hostages were freed Saturday as part of the fourth such release in Israel's ceasefire with Hamas. One more, American-Israeli Keith Siegel, is set to be released in Gaza City later Saturday morning.

Hamas hands 2 hostages over to Red Cross

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hamas handed two hostages over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel.

The militants released Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, in a highly stage-managed and orderly handover to the Red Cross. Both had been abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war.

Another hostage, American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, was also set to be released Saturday and was expected to be handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City to the north.

Red Cross vehicles arrive at site of planned hostage handover

Red Cross vehicles arrived in a location in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Saturday where Hamas was set to release hostages in its ceasefire deal with Israel.

Who are the Israeli hostages expected to be freed today?

The hostages to be released, according to Hamas and Israel, are: Yarden Bibas, 35; American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65; and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54. All were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war.

News that Yarden Bibas, 35, is among the hostages set to be freed on Saturday brought renewed attention to the uncertain fate of the Bibas family. Hamas says his kidnapped wife and two young boys were killed in an Israeli airstrike, but Israel has not verified the claim.

A video of their abduction by armed men showed Shiri swaddling in a blanket her two redheaded boys — Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months old at the time. Kfir was the youngest of about 250 people taken captive on Oct. 7, and his plight quickly came to represent the helplessness and anger the hostage-taking stirred in Israel, where the Bibas family has become a household name.

Like Bibas, Kalderon was also captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His two children and ex-wife, Hadas, were also taken, but they were freed during the 2023 ceasefire.

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.

Ceasefire holds for now but next phase will be harder

Today's exchange is part of a deal that paused fighting in Gaza on Jan. 19. Israeli forces have pulled back from most of Gaza, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to return to what remains of their homes and humanitarian groups to surge assistance.

It calls for Hamas to release a total of 33 hostages, including women, children, older adults and sick or wounded men, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the hostages to be released in this phase are dead.

The initial Phase One ceasefire paused fighting for six weeks, calling for the sides to use that time to negotiate a second phase in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages and the ceasefire would continue indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.

Negotiating a phase two deal could be difficult. Hamas says it won't release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, after reasserting its rule over Gaza within hours of the truce.

Meanwhile, Israel says it is still committed to destroying Hamas, and a key far-right partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition is already calling for the war to resume after the ceasefire's first phase.