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.
Members of the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted an agreement on Tuesday intended to improve preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to COVID-19, but the absence of the US cast doubt on the treaty's effectiveness.
The United Nations has received permission from Israel for about 100 more emergency aid trucks to enter Gaza, though the first supplies to have entered in weeks remained under Israeli control, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The leaders of Britain, Canada and France threatened sanctions against Israel on Monday if it does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions, piling further pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The New Zealand government on Tuesday deferred a vote over the rare suspension of three Indigenous lawmakers from parliament for performing a haka, the Maori ceremonial dance, during the reading of a contentious bill last year.
Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius scorched parts of northern and central China on Tuesday with authorities issuing heat warnings and offering aid to farmers to protect food production.
The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed a financial penalty of AED 200 million on an exchange house for serious violations of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
Dubai has launched "affordable housing projects" for working professionals in key public and private sector roles in an effort to "improve living standards for (the city's) workforce".
The UAE has denounced the Israeli airstrikes on the Hamad Prosthetics Hospital in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the death and injury of a number of people.