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Three Israeli hostages who will be released on Saturday have been named by Hamas.

Israel and Hamas are exchanging hostages and prisoners as a fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza.

Ofer Kalderon, Keith Samuel Siegel and Yarden Bibas will be released, Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said in a post on his telegram channel.

It follows yesterday’s release of eight hostages – three Israelis and five Thai nationals – being held by Hamas in Gaza.

People gathering near vehicles of the Red Cross on the day hostages are released by Palestinian militants.
Pic: Reuters
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People gathering near Red Cross vehicles yesterday as hostages were released by Palestinian militants. Pic: Reuters

After a chaotic release that saw crowds swarm sections of the handover, Israel temporarily delayed the freeing of 110 Palestinians expected in exchange – underscoring how fragile the truce is.

In the ongoing first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is returning 33 hostages over six weeks. In return, Israel is freeing 737 Palestinian prisoners.

Freed Palestinian prisoners react, after being released from an Israeli jail as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
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Celebrating Palestinian prisoners after their late release in the Israeli-occupied West Bank yesterday. Pic: Reuters

Who are the hostages being freed?

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All three of the hostages set to be released were taken in the October 7 2023 attack.

Yarden Bibas, now 35, was taken alongside his wife, Shiri Babas, and their two sons, four-year-old Ariel and 10-month-old Kfir – the youngest of Hamas’s hostages.

It is believed Yarden could be the only family member still alive.

In November 2023, Hamas said his wife and children had died in an Israeli airstrike before the current ceasefire. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said at the time it was “examining the reliability of the information”.

Shiri Bibas, 33, taken from Nir-Oz. Pic: Bring Them Home Now
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Hamas has said Yarden Bibas’s family – his wife Shiri and sons Ariel and Kfir (below) – are dead. Pic: Bring Them Home Now

Kfir Bibas, 1.5, taken from Nir-Oz. Pic: Bring Them Home Now
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Pic: Bring Them Home Now

Keith Samuel Siegel, a 65-year-old dual US citizen, was abducted with his wife Aviva Adrienne Siegel – who was freed in the first hostage-for-prisoner exchange in November 2023.

Last year, he featured in a video released by Hamas during the Passover holiday. In the footage, he broke down in tears and said he hoped he would be reunited with his family.

A view of a banner depicting Keith Siegel, who is a dual U.S. citizen seized during the October 7 attack on Israel and taken hostage into Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, is seen with other images of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 28, 2024. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
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A banner with a picture of Keith Samuel Siegel. Pic: Reuters

Ofer Kalderon, 54, is the uncle of a 12-year-old girl found dead after Hamas’s October 7 attack.

The bodies of Noya Dan, who was autistic, and her grandmother, Carmela Dan, were found nearly a fortnight after the pair were reported missing.

More from Sky News:
What is in the ceasefire deal?
Palestinians return to northern Gaza

Mr Kalderon’s two children, Erez and Sahar, who were 12 and 16 at the time, were abducted alongside him. They were also released in the first exchange.

The release will be the fourth since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect on 19 January.

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Gaza in numbers after 15 months of war

While the Israel-Hamas ceasefire is still holding, unrest is continuing elsewhere in the Middle East.

Early this morning, two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on an unofficial border crossing in eastern Lebanon.

The IDF said in a statement it had struck “a military site that included underground infrastructure for developing and producing combat equipment” used by Hezbollah.

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

A number of people have been killed and multiple others injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, police have said.

The driver has been taken into custody after the incident shortly after 8pm local time on Saturday, police added.

People were in the area near 41st Avenue and Fraser Street for the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party, named after a national hero of the Philippines.

Vancouver’s mayor Ken Sim said in a post on X: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.”

He added: “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground.

A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in photos from the scene.

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially 'historic' meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope's funeral

Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.

The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.

The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
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The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”

The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.

Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.

Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.

Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
Image:
The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Trump and Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
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Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica

But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.

The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.

The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.

There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.

U.S President Donald Trump attends the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.

He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.

“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.

In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.

They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.

Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.

In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
Image:
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.

We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.

But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.

Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.

Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
Image:
The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.

They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.

The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.

Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.

If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.

This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.

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