Three Israeli hostages and dozens of Palestinian prisoners released

On Saturday, three Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were released in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel. The three, Yarden Bibas, 34, Ofer Kalderon, 53, and Keith Siegel, 65, were handed over to the Red Cross and were the latest to be released under a ceasefire deal struck last month.

The Palestinian prisoners were transported by bus to Gaza and the West Bank, many from the nearby Ofer prison. The atmosphere of this exchange was in stark contrast to the chaotic handover on Thursday, when surging crowds squeezed the hostages, raising concerns about their safety and prompting Israel to postpone that day's planned release of Palestinian prisoners.

Saturday's release was more orderly, but still retained a display that Hamas remains the ruling power in Gaza. Armed fighters stood in a line to keep crowds at bay, while the released men were surrounded by more armed, masked fighters. Banners behind them featured images of killed Hamas leaders. Red Cross officials signed release papers for Mr Kalderon and Mr Bibas, who were then asked to wave their papers to crowds in Khan Younis.

Cheers erupted at the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv as Mr Siegel, who holds dual US and Israeli nationality, appeared on a stage in Gaza City, with some shouting: "He is a hero, he is a hero." One woman described feeling "pure joy". Mr Siegel's wife, Aviva, said: "There is no one happier than me," as she was pictured getting into a car to meet her husband. Mr Kalderon’s French-Israeli family said in a statement that they were filled with “joy, relief and emotion” after a “long and difficult 484 days of unbearable waiting”. They added that he had spent “months in a nightmare”, holding on to “the hope of embracing his children again”.

But others, such as Liz Domsky, had mixed emotions. "They all need to come home," she said as she watched the release at Hostages Square. Mr Siegel’s niece, Tal Wax, told the BBC: "We are all very, very excited to have Keith home, but we are very worried about the condition he is coming back to us in. While we see that he is able to walk and talk, we see that he is very thin." She added: "Obviously, our family is very excited for Keith, but it is still a bittersweet moment. [Other families] must also have a moment like we have."

In Israel, emotions were equally complex about the release of Mr Bibas, whose wife, Shiri, and two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, were also kidnapped in the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023. Hamas claimed that they were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the early days of the subsequent war, but then they were mentioned in a list of hostages they were willing to release in January. Andrea Wittenberg, holding a picture of Kfir, who was just nine months old when he was kidnapped, commented: "They are children. They should be at home. They cannot be in Gaza." She added: "I don't want to give up."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog described Mr Bibas's return as "heartbreaking" and said his country remained "deeply concerned" about their fate. "As a whole nation, we hold them in our hearts," he wrote. Mr Herzog added that each released hostage "deserves time to heal and rebuild their lives, and every hostage deserves to come home as soon as possible."

In Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners were met by large cheering crowds. Nasrullah Muammar, who was released after 17 years in prison, said in his first statement, according to Palestinian media: "Today we are reborn... we have left the narrowness of the grave to the vastness of the world." Ali Barghouti told Reuters: "Despite the pain and the difficult journey, I feel happy." He had been serving two life sentences.

Most of the prisoners were held under what Israel calls "administrative detention," which critics call imprisonment without charge. Some had been convicted of serious crimes. The Palestinian Prisoners Society said 54 had been given long sentences and 18 were serving life sentences. Saturday's hostage release was more organised than on Thursday, when two Israelis and five Thai nationals were ushered through cheering crowds, at times having to push people away. Efrat Machikawa, the niece of 80-year-old Gadi Moses, who was released, said her uncle thought it was "the end of his life" when crowds surrounded him, and praised the "brave" Red Cross staff who facilitated his release.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "shocking scenes" and that Israel had demanded and received assurances that the circumstances would not be repeated. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, urged improved security around the handover process and that it be done "in a safe and dignified manner". According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, nearly 47,500 people have been killed in the territory since Israel invaded it after the 7 October 2023 attacks, which saw around 1,200 Israelis killed and 251 taken hostage.

The ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas began on 19 January, with the first phase to see 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners released, as well as hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza each day. The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt – a crucial humanitarian corridor – also reopened on Saturday after being closed for eight months. The Gaza health ministry said 50 patients had passed through the crossing to receive medical care in Egypt.

This week, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have also been allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza. But one man, Ashraf Dous, said that some, including his father, had returned south after seeing the scale of the destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes. "It's a real mess," he said. "The situation is catastrophic." He said that most of the floors of his apartment block in a northern Gaza city had been destroyed. "I didn't expect the situation to be like this - it's too much."