Middle East latest: Hamas frees 3 hostages, Israel releases Palestinians as part of ceasefire deal

A group of 50 sick and wounded Palestinian children began entering Egypt for treatment through the crossing, the first opening of the border since Israel captured it nearly nine months ago.

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Here's the latest:

The Palestinian Health Ministry says five Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the northern occupied West Bank.

The ministry reported that Israeli aerial bombardment in the village of Qabatiya, south of the city of Jenin, killed two people and that shelling in an eastern neighborhood of Jenin killed three, including a 16-year-old boy.

The Israeli military said only that it had carried out an airstrike on militants in the northern West Bank. It did not immediately provide more information.

The rising death toll comes as an Israeli military raid in the urban Jenin refugee camp, a hotbed of Palestinian militancy, nears the two-week mark. Before Saturday, the Israeli military said the operation had killed at least 18 Palestinians in the camp — including a 2-year-old girl, whose death the military has called “tragic.” It says it is examining.

JERUSALEM — The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he spoke Saturday evening with President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. They agreed that negotiations on the Gaza ceasefire’s second phase will begin at their meeting Monday in Washington.

Netanyahu leaves Sunday for Washington, where he will meet with Trump on Tuesday.

Talks on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase have been set to begin Monday, two weeks into the six-week first phase. Netanyahu’s office said he and Witkoff will discuss Israel’s positions and Witkoff later in the week will speak with the other mediators, Qatar and Egypt.

Concerted pressure by the incoming Trump administration and outgoing Biden one was cited as a factor in achieving this ceasefire after months of stalled talks.

TEL AVIV, Israel — In a video statement broadcast before a crowd of supporters at a Tel Aviv rally for the hostages held in Gaza, former hostage Doron Steinbrecher said it was important for her “to show that I’m ok.”

Steinbrecher, 31, was released some 10 days ago as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

In the prerecorded video — her first public statement since being freed — she said that taping it was not easy for her.

“The last time I sat with a camera pointed at me was in captivity. This whole thing takes me back to all the hostage videos I filmed and those I saw,” she said, referring to the videos Hamas taped of her and other hostages during their Gaza captivity. “But this time, I’m sitting comfortably on a couch with my family watching me in a warm and pleasant place.”

Of her recovery, Steinbrecher said “It will take time and it’s a process — it won’t end in a week or two, but I’m here thanks to you, and I’m okay.”

She vowed to join the public battle to ensure that all the hostages return. Appealing directly to the families of hostages still held in Gaza, she said “You’re not alone. We are together until the end.”

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named a new military chief of staff to take up the role once the current head general resigns in March.

Netanyahu’s office said Saturday that Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir would replace Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. Halevi said last month he was resigning over Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the worst security disaster in Israel’s history.

Following Netanyahu’s announcement, Halevi released a statement congratulating Zamir and pledging a smooth transition of command.

“I have known Eyal for many years, and I am confident that he will lead the IDF forward in the face of the challenges ahead,” wrote Halevi, using the acronym for the Israeli military

Zamir is the director general of Israel’s defense ministry and was considered a favored candidate to succeed Halevi.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Yaser Abu Hamad was arrested for his involvement in the Islamic Jihad militant group in August 2006. He last stepped foot in the Gaza Strip at a time when Hamas’ first parliamentary victory was shaking up Palestinian politics and Israel was reeling from its 2005 disengagement from the territory.

Transferred to prison in Israel and held for almost two decades, Abu Hamad missed countless historical milestones: Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza, the imposition of a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade, five bloody wars and more violent skirmishes with Israel.

But nothing has transformed the Gaza he knew like this current Israel-Hamas war that may be the most deadly in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Abu Hamad was released to Gaza on Saturday with some 150 other Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jail. Most of them were detained during the war without trial and others, like Abu Hamad, were serving long sentences for their involvement in attacks against Israelis.

Abu Hamad couldn’t have anticipated the pain that would accompany his freedom. He discovered that during the war, 20 members of his family, including his mother, sisters, brother’s wife and nephews, were killed by a barrage of Israeli airstrikes on his hometown of Khan Younis. Instead of running into their arms as he imagined, he headed to see their graves.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to Washington on Sunday for a visit in which he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, his office said Saturday.

Trump invited Netanyahu to the White House last week, making the Israeli leader the first foreign head of state to meet with him in his second term.

Netanyahu’s visit comes as the United States is putting pressure on Israel and Hamas to continue a ceasefire that has paused a devastating 15-month war in Gaza. Talks about the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which aims to end the war, begin Monday.

The Washington meeting is a chance for Netanyahu, under pressure at home, to remind the world of the support he has received from Trump over the years, and to defend Israel’s conduct of the war.

Last year, the two men met face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years at Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago estate. Netanyahu’s office said the two leaders would discuss “Gaza, the hostages, the handling of all elements of the Iranian axis, and other key issues.”

TEL AVIV, Israel — A delegation of senior Thai officials including the foreign minister and army chief of staff on Saturday visited the five Thai nationals who were released from Hamas captivity earlier this week.

Surasak Rumnao, 32, Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Sathian Suwannakham, 35, Pongsak Thaenna, 36, and Bannawat Saethao, 27, were released on Thursday, along with three Israeli hostages, as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

During the visit, the five men also spoke by video conference with Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said in a post on X after visiting the Shamir Medical Center in central Israel, where the Thais were recovering, that Thai and Israeli officials were coordinating their return home soon.

The head of the hospital, Dr. Osnat Levzion-Korach, said that all five men were in “stable, good condition” and were “beginning to open up and talk.”

JERUSALEM — Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel had an emotional reunion with his family members following his release from captivity in Gaza.

In footage released by Israel’s government press office, Siegel’s daughters greeted him at the hospital, where doctors are monitoring his condition, with a song and hugged him tightly. He told them they were “champions.”

Siegel, who hails from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was handed over by Hamas militants on Saturday along with two other male hostages, Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon.

The White House issued a statement saying, “Today, Americans celebrate the return of American-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel and two Israelis who were held captive by Hamas terrorists since October 7, 2023. President Trump and his Administration have worked diligently to secure their release and are committed to freeing all remaining hostages.”

TEL AVIV, Israel — The family of Yarden Bibas says “there are no words to describe the relief of holding Yarden in our hands, embracing him, and hearing his voice,” after his release from Hamas' captivity on Saturday.

Bibas, 35, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oc. 7, 2023. His wife, Shiri, and their two young boys, Ariel and Kfir, were also taken that day and are still captive in Gaza. It is unknown if they are still alive.

“Yarden has returned home, but the home remains incomplete,” the family wrote. “Yarden is a father who left his safe room to protect his family, bravely survived captivity, and returned to an unbearable reality.”

The family said it “continues with hope” and made a plea to the public to keep pressing for the release of all remaining hostages.

JERUSALEM — Argentinian officials are celebrating the release of Israeli-Argentine Yarden Bibas from Hamas captivity after almost 16 months of the war in Gaza.

President Javier Milei of Argentina, a staunch supporter of Israel, posted a stream of emotional videos all morning Saturday on X showing Bibas greeting his relatives after his release with long and tearful hugs.

The Israeli Embassy in Argentina says that Bibas obtained Argentine citizenship through his wife, Shiri, and their two small children, Ariel and Kfir, are also Argentinian. The condition of Shiri and their two sons, the youngest hostages to be abducted during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, remains unclear. Hamas claimed last year that they had been killed by an Israeli airstrike, but Israeli officials never confirmed that.

Axel Wahnish, a Sephardic rabbi and the Argentine ambassador to Israel, said that Argentine authorities were following Bibas’ release in the exchange closely. He expressed hope that “all the kidnapped people can return safely to their homes.”

Wahnish also praised Milei for his strong condemnations of Hamas, which he said stood in contrast to the “silence of some leaders of the free world.”

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians who were sentenced to years in prison over deadly attacks against Israelis and released into the occupied West Bank described harsh conditions, beatings and other abuse in prison. Many appeared frail as they reveled in their homecoming on Saturday.

Mohammad Kaskus, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison over his militancy during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, told The Associated Press that he faced beatings and intimidation during interrogations. He said that the food provisions in prison were insufficient, with meager snacks instead of full meals often leaving him hungry.

The Israeli Prison Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Another released prisoner, Murad Hmeidan, who was serving a life sentence plus 25 years in a case also related to his involvement in attacks against Israelis, said “the treatment was extremely bad.” He said that seeing the deaths of fellow prisoners in detention from wounds or illnesses over the years made him feel that “there is a serious risk to the lives of everyone in Israeli prisons.”

The Palestinian Prisoners' Society, an advocacy group, has recorded the deaths 54 Palestinians inside Israeli prison since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Israel has previously said that military prosecutors are investigating Palestinian deaths in custody and did not offer further comment on Saturday.

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli army released footage of Yarden Bibas arriving at a hospital in central Israel and meeting his mother for the first time after his release earlier Saturday from 15 months of captivity in Gaza. The two are seen locked in a silent embrace.

Bibas, 35, returned to Israel without his wife, Shiri Bibas, or his two young sons, Kfir and Ariel, who remain in captivity. Hamas claims the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israel has not confirmed their deaths but says it is gravely concerned for their welfare. Ariel was 4 years old and Kfir was 9 months old when they were taken with their mother during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Bibas along with Ofer Kalderon and Keith Siegal, who were also freed on 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.”

JERUSALEM — Newly released hostage Keith Siegel looked frail and appeared to be walking slowly in footage released by the Israeli military shortly after his release from captivity in Gaza.

Still, in Associated Press footage the 65-year-old Israeli-American refused a wheelchair upon landing at the hospital where doctors will check his medical condition. Wrapped in an Israeli flag, we waved to people in nearby balconies waving back at him.

Siegel was injured in the Hamas attack October 7, 2023, his ribs broken and hand bleeding when he was dragged into Gaza, according to his wife Aviva Siegel, who was taken hostage with him but released in November 2023.

Watching the first moments of her husband’s release on television in a southern border community near Gaza as she waited to reunite with him, Aviva Siegel said, “There he is, Keith, there he is, wow!”

“They’ve put a hat on him!” she exclaimed.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli Prison Authority says that all 183 Palestinian prisoners slated for release on Saturday have been freed. Most of them, 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.

That concludes the fourth prisoner-for-hostage swap in the six-week initial phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

RAFAH CROSSING, Egypt — A group of 50 sick and wounded Palestinian children began crossing to Egypt for treatment through Gaza’s Rafah crossing on Saturday, in the first opening of the border since Israel captured it nearly nine months ago.

The reopening of the Rafah crossing represents a significant breakthrough that bolsters the ceasefire deal Israel and Hamas agreed to earlier this month. Israel agreed to reopen the crossing after Hamas released the last living female hostages in Gaza.

Egyptian television showed an Palestinian Red Cross ambulance pulling up to the crossing gate, and several children were brought out on stretchers and transferred to ambulances on the Egyptian side.

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military published footage of released hostage Yarden Bibas reuniting with his father and sister at a military base outside of Gaza, where he is undergoing initial medical checks immediately after entering Israel. He closed his eyes as his father, Eli, and sister Ofri hugged him fiercely. “Sweetheart,” his father said, as the family embraced and cried.

Bibas, 35, is the father of the two youngest hostages in Gaza, whose plight has become a rallying cry for Israelis. The Bibas sons — 4 years old and 9 months old at the time of their abduction — and their mother, Shiri, are still in captivity, and feared dead.

Shiri Bibas and the two children are the last woman and children held in captivity in Gaza who have not been confirmed dead by Israel.

In November 2023, Yarden Bibas was filmed by Hamas as he was told that Shiri Bibas and the children were kidnapped and killed in an Israeli airstrike. In the video, filmed under duress, Yarden is sobbing and pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring their bodies to Israel for burial.

Israel dismissed the video as “psychological terror” and said there was no concrete information about the status of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, but there have been no signs of life from the three in the past year.

Israel confirmed that American Israeli hostage Keith Siegel had crossed the border from Gaza after being handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross at a ceremony in Gaza City. The Israeli military said in a statement that he was headed to a reception point at a military base, where he would be met by family members before heading to a hospital.

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.