Hamas has released three more Israeli hostages.

Hamas has released three more hostages who were abducted during the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

According to reports from the Times of Israel.

The released individuals are civilian men. They returned to Israel after 484 days following their abduction from their communities near the Gaza border.

Ofer Calderon, 54, and Yarden Bibas, 35, were handed over to the International Red Cross in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on Saturday morning, while Keita Siegel, 65, was transferred nearly two hours later at the port of Gaza City.

It is noted that the return process was much more controlled than the chaos during the previous handover of seven hostages.

Among those released are Ofer Calderon and Yarden Bibas. They were handed over to Red Cross representatives before heading to Israel. Keita Siegel was transferred separately a few hours later.

As reported by Reuters, Bibas is the father of the two youngest hostages, baby Kfir, who was only 9 months old when he was kidnapped by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, and Ariel, who was 4 years old at the time of the militants' attack. In November 2023, Hamas claimed that the boys and their mother Shiri, who was abducted at the same time, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Since then, there has been no news about them.

Israel is expected to transfer 182 Palestinian prisoners.

The new round of hostage releases was not accompanied by the chaotic scenes witnessed during the previous exchange on Thursday, January 30, when Hamas militants tried to protect the hostages from a crowd in Gaza. However, the prisoner exchange has become a means for the militants to demonstrate their strength as a sign of "regaining their dominance" in Gaza, despite heavy losses in the war.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that Israel confirmed the names of four Israeli women hostages that Hamas is set to release on Saturday after 477 days of captivity during the second exchange under a ceasefire agreement with the terrorist group.