Israel, Hamas Make New Round of Exchanges

Hamas freed three hostages in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth round of exchanges during the Gaza ceasefire. 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, reports the AP. 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. The latest:

• Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas arrived at a hospital in central Israel and met his mother for the first time in 15 months. The two are seen locked in a silent embrace. Bibas, 35, returned without his wife, Shiri Bibas, or two young sons, Kfir and Ariel. Hamas claims the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike. In a post on X, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Bibas along with Ofer Kalderon and Keith Siegel, who were also freed Saturday. He added, "Our thoughts are now with Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas and all our hostages. We will continue to work to bring them home."
• Siegel looked frail and appeared to be walking slowly in footage released by the Israeli military shortly after his release. Still, the 65-year-old Israeli-American refused a wheelchair upon landing at the hospital. Wrapped in an Israeli flag, he waved to people in nearby balconies waving back at him. Watching the first moments of her husband's release as she waited to reunite with him, wife Aviva Siegel said, "There he is, Keith, there he is, wow! They've put a hat on him!" she exclaimed.
• The Israeli Prison Authority says that all 183 Palestinian prisoners slated for release on Saturday have been freed. Most, including 111 arrested after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack, were released to Gaza. Just over two dozen returned to cheering crowds in the occupied West Bank. Another seven serving life sentences were transferred to Egypt ahead of their deportation.

(More Israel-Hamas war stories.)