GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, released on Saturday morning three Israeli male captives in two separate handovers in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners slated for release later today.
French-Israeli national Ofer Kalderon and Israeli citizen Yarden Bibas were handed over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, Al Jazeera TV showed on Saturday.
American-Israeli national Keith Siegel was handed over an hour later to Red Cross employees in Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave.
Hundreds of al-Qassam Brigades fighters were seen lining up and managing the crowds in both Khan Yunis and Gaza City, as Kalderon, Bibas and Siegel waved to crowds of Palestinian citizens at the handover sites.
All the three captives reportedly arrived in Israel (1948 occupied Palestine) after being transported by Red Cross vehicles to Israeli reception points.
Now, the Hamas Movement expects the release of 183 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jailers later today, including 18 people with life sentences and 111 who were kidnaped from Gaza during the Israeli genocidal war.
Under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, 33 captives held by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza are to be freed in the first six weeks of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including women, children and people serving life sentences.
So far, 15 captives held in Gaza, including five Thai workers, have been exchanged.
Meanwhile, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is also expected to open today.
