French President Emmanuel Macron attends a press conference at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon on January 17, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
France President Emmanuel Macron has said that French-Israeli nationals Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi are on the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the draft Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure they are reunited with their families,” Mr. Macron said in a message on X.
Under the agreement announced Wednesday (January 15, 2025), 33 of some 100 hostages who remain in Gaza are set to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The agreement has not yet been approved by Israel’s security cabinet and government.
Mr. Macron was on a visit to neighbouring Lebanon on Friday (January 17, 2025), where he was to meet the crisis-hit country’s newly-elected leaders, as the nation attempts to recover from the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun attend a press conference at the presidential palace, in Baabda, Lebanon on January 17, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Published – January 17, 2025 06:39 pm IST
