Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it would free the father of the youngest hostages seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and two others including a dual US citizen in the next exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon will be handed over on Saturday, Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said in a post on his Telegram channel.
Yarden Bibas is the father of baby Kfir, only nine months old when he was kidnapped, and Ariel, who was four at the time of the attack.
There was no word on the fate of Kfir and Ariel, or on their mother Shiri, who was taken at the same time. Hamas said in late 2023 that they had been killed by Israeli bombardment.
Israeli-American Keith Siegel, who was taken hostage with his wife Aviva, was seen in a video released by Hamas last year. His wife was released in the first hostage-for-prisoner exchange in November 2023.
Ofer Kalderon's two children Erez and Sahar, abducted alongside him, were also released in the first exchange.
US President Donald Trump said an angry Israel "violently lashed out" and attacked Iran's major gas field, a significant escalation in the US-Israeli war, but ruled out further such attacks by Israel unless Iran retaliated further.
Saudi Arabia reserves the right to act militarily against Iran and any trust with Tehran has been shattered, the Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Fahran said early on Thursday, after Riyadh was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation says one of the operational units at the Mina Al Ahmadi refinery was hit on Thursday by a drone, resulting in a "limited" fire.
QatarEnergy announced that several liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City were subjected to missile attacks early Thursday morning, causing fires and further serious damage, in addition to the previous attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City on Wednesday, which severely damaged a gas-to-liquids conversion plant.