JERUSALEM - Hamas and Israel will conduct their fourth swap of the Gaza ceasefire on Saturday, with militants releasing three Israelis including the father of the two youngest hostages, in exchange for 183 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Since the truce took effect on January 19, Gaza militants have released 15 hostages after holding them in captivity since their attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli hostages to be freed on Saturday are Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, who also holds US citizenship, and Ofer Kalderon, who also has French nationality, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group.
In return, Israel will release 183 prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group said, more than double the initially reported figure of 90.
Since the ceasefire began, Israel has freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them women and minors.
Saturday's swap is the second exchange this week and the fourth since the ceasefire began.
The hostage handovers have sometimes been chaotic, particularly during the most recent exchange in the southern city of Khan Yunis on Thursday, where scenes of disorder prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to condemn the situation as "shocking".
Negotiations for a second phase of the deal are set to begin on Monday, according to a timeline provided by an Israeli official.
This next phase would address the release of the remaining captives and include discussions on a more permanent end to the war.