Israel received, on Saturday, the three hostages in the fourth batch of the first stage of the ceasefire, and they are Ofer Caldron, Yardin Peps, and Kate Siggal who holds the Israeli and American nationalities.

The Israeli government welcomed their return, noting in a statement that it is committed to returning all the hostages detained in Gaza.

For its part, the Israeli Prison Authority said that it is preparing to release the Palestinian detainees in the exchange process, from the “Ofer” and “Kitzahoat” prisons, according to a decision of the political level.

On the other hand, Israel is supposed to release 183 Palestinian detainees, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Club.

This development comes within the continuous efforts to implement the ceasefire agreement, which includes the exchange of hostages and detainees between the two parties.

Since the start of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are women and minors.

Since the truce came into effect on January 19, 15 hostages who were kidnapped in the Hamas attack on southern Israel have been released on October 7, 2023.

During the attack, Hamas fighters kidnapped 251 people, 79 of whom are still hostages in Gaza, and at least 34 of them were killed, according to the Israeli authorities.

The ceasefire agreement in Gaza, consisting of three stages, stipulates the suspension of combat actions and the withdrawal of Israel from the inhabited areas, and the first stage extends for six weeks and includes the release of 33 hostages from Gaza in exchange for about 1900 Palestinian prisoners.

It also stipulates the resumption of negotiations 16 days after entering into force, i.e. Monday on the third of February, to discuss the mechanisms of the second stage that aims to release the last hostage and end the war, which is opposed by some members of the Israeli government.