Four American hostages, including Keith Siegel, are set to be released from Hamas captivity after 484 days. The release is part of a prisoner exchange deal involving Israel and Hamas.
Four American hostages, including 65-year-old Keith Siegel, are set to be released from Hamas captivity on Saturday after 484 days. Siegel, along with Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas, will be freed as part of a prisoner exchange deal. Israel is expected to release another group of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in return. Siegel was last seen in a video released by Hamas in April, where he assured his family he was doing well.
Originally from Chapel Hall, North Carolina, Siegel was taken hostage from kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel during Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack that resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the kidnapping of around 250.Bibas was also taken hostage during the attack, along with his wife Shiri and their two children, Kfir, who was 9 months old at the time and would have turned 2 this month, and their now 5-year-old son, Ariel. During a ceasefire in November 2023, when 105 hostages were released, the Bibas children did not emerge from Gaza, unlike other child hostages. There were reports at the time that Shiri Bibas and the two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike during that ceasefire, but the Israeli military said these claims could not be confirmed. In February 2024, the Israel Defense Forces acknowledged their concerns for the family's well-being. 'Based on the information available to us, we are very concerned and worried about the condition and well-being of Shiri and the children,' Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israel Defense Forces' chief spokesperson, said in a news conference. Both children were eventually released in November 2023.Siegel's daughters, Ilan and Shir, shared a picture of themselves holding hands with their mother, Aviva Siegel, who was also taken hostage on October 7 but released a month later. Aviva spoke about her experience, stating, 'Keith and I nearly died in the tunnel because there was no oxygen, and I’ve been talking about it over and over and over — hard stories. But I want to just tell everybody we’re not going to stop.' Sadly, the bodies of four other Americans, Itay Chen (19), Omer Neutra (21), and the married couple Judith Weinstein (70) and Gadi Haggai (73), who were most likely killed on October 7, 2023, are still being held in Gaza
HAMAS ISRAEL HOSTAGES RELEASE PRISONER EXCHANGE AMERICAN SIEGEL BIBAS KALDERON
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