Hamas releases American-Israeli hostage in ceasefire deal

File Source: YouTube

Hamas has handed over 65-year-old American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel to the Red Cross, marking the third hostage release on Saturday under a ceasefire agreement with Israel. Siegel walked onto a stage set up by the sea in Gaza City, where militants transferred him to Red Cross officials. Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, cheering and waving signs as they watched the handover on a large screen.

Earlier in the day, Hamas also released Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis. All three were abducted in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war.

The ceasefire, which began on January 19, aims to de-escalate the deadliest conflict ever fought between Israel and Hamas. The deal has held for nearly two weeks, pausing fighting and allowing increased humanitarian aid into Gaza.

During the six-week first phase of the truce, Hamas is expected to release 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel has been informed by Hamas that eight of those hostages were either killed during the October 7 attack or died in captivity.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, wounded Palestinians are set to be evacuated from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah crossing, which Israel had closed in May. The European Union deployed a civilian mission on Friday to help prepare for the reopening of the crossing, a key step in the ceasefire’s first phase. The Health Ministry reported that 50 sick and wounded children, along with 61 companions, will be evacuated through Rafah.

Keith Siegel, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza alongside his wife, Aviva Siegel. She was released in a 2023 ceasefire and has since led a campaign advocating for Keith and other hostages’ release.

Bibas’ release has drawn renewed attention to the fate of his wife, Shiri, and their two young sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, who was just 9 months old at the time of capture. The family was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and footage of their abduction, showing Shiri holding her redheaded boys wrapped in a blanket, became a powerful symbol of the hostage crisis in Israel.

Hamas claims Shiri and the children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, though Israel has not confirmed their deaths. A military spokesman recently expressed serious concern about their fate.

Like Bibas, Kalderon was also taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz.