Israeli hostages’ families welcome news that 3 more men will be released
The Israeli organization representing families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip celebrated the news Friday that three high-profile male hostages would be released by Hamas the following day. In turn, Palestinian authorities say Israel has agreed to release 90 prisoners.
This will be the fourth round of exchanges during the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The first phase of the 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.
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.
Palestinian health authorities in Gaza also announced that the long-shuttered Rafah border crossing with Egypt would reopen on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the parents of two Israeli hostages who were just released from Gaza thanked President Donald Trump on Friday for helping make the hostage deal happen, and called for the release of all the remaining captives held by Hamas.
“This is a Jewish duty, a moral, a national, an ethical (duty),” said Meirav Berger, the mother of Agam Berger, 20, a female soldier who was let go Thursday. In a news conference at the hospital where her daughter was being treated, she called her “our super hero.”
Shlomi Berger, Agam’s father, said the family would always remember Trump’s “generosity and leadership.” During the ceasefire negotiations, Trump threatened there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages weren’t freed by his inauguration.
Yechi Yehoud, the father of civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud, 29, also spoke outside the hospital where his daughter was being treated. He too thanked Trump and his special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who he said “knew how to ‘speak Trump’ in the Middle East.”
Yechi Yehoud said Witkoff made the Israeli government understand “that there was no choice but to implement the agreement, release the hostages, and end the war.” He added that his daughter was in “good health and shows tremendous mental strength,” following her release Thursday.
