Hamas has handed over the first two hostages out of three expected to be released on Saturday as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel.
Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon were released to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip, live TV footage of the handover showed.
Another hostage, American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, is expected to be handed over to the Red Cross at a different location – Gaza City to the north – later on Saturday.
The truce, which began on 19 January, is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
The fragile deal has held for nearly two weeks, halting the fighting and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory. A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the truce’s initial six weeks.
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