Israel hostages Keith Siegel, Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon freed from Hamas captivity
Hamas released three more hostages Saturday, including the first American to be freed under the current cease-fire deal and the father of the terror group’s youngest captive.
Yarden Bibas, and Ofer Kalderon, 54, were received in Khan Younis around 8:30 a.m. local time by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been coordinating the handovers in the Gaza Strip with Hamas.
Keith Siegel, a US-Israeli dual citizen from Chapel Hill, NC, was released nearly two hours later in Gaza City.
“Finally, after 484 long, terrifying days and nights, full of immense worry for our father, we can breathe again,” Siegel’s family said in a statement, according to the Times of Israel.
“Thank you, President Trump, for bringing our father back to us. There are now 79 hostages who are also waiting to be reunited with their loved ones. Our hope rests with you.”
In both venues, Siegel, Bibas and Kalderon were escorted by their captors and paraded on stage during the hand-off ceremony.
Siegel, 65, was seen holding the bizarre “gift bag” — which reportedly included photos of them in captivity, a commemorative photo of Gaza itself, and some kind of certificate — before he was handed over to Red Cross officials. Bibas and Kalderon only held a certificate.
Siegel was ripped from his home during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
Siegel’s wife, Aviva, who was also taken captive during the cross-border rampage, was freed in November 2023 during the first hostage swap between Israel and Hamas.
His release marks the first time an American hostage has been freed under the 42-day truce, which brought more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza to a halt.
Footage shared by the nonprofit Stand With Us showed Siegel’s family members celebrating the release with a bottle of champagne.
Bibas, 35, was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, as was his wife, Shiri, and the couple’s young children, Ariel, currently 5, and Kfir, who was 9-months-old at the time of the attack and is now 2.
The fate of the rest of the Bibas family, who quickly became symbols of Hamas’ savage cruelty, is unknown. Hamas claimed Shiri and the children were killed in an Israeli bombardment shortly after the start of the war, but Israel had not confirmed their deaths.
Adding to the confusion, the terror group included Kfir on the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first six weeks of the truce.
During the first stage of the latest cease-fire deal, Hamas was to free all female hostages first, followed by men over 50 and those considered ill.
Bibas reunited with his father and sister in Israel.
After the news broke of Yaden’s imminent homecoming, Bibas family members shared bittersweet emotions.
“Our Yarden is set to return tomorrow and we are all so excited, but Shiri and the children have not yet returned,” the family said in a statement. “The emotions are mixed, and we are facing very complex days.”
Kalderon, a 54-year-old French-Israeli national, was kidnapped by the terror group near his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his daughter Sahar and son Erez. Both of the children were released in the November 2023 hostage swap.
His family said in a statement they were waiting with “immense joy mixed with paralysing anguish” for his release.
Kalderon was transported to a hospital, where he will reunite with his family.
“Ofer Kalderon is free! We share the immense relief and joy of his loved ones after 483 days of unimaginable hell,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on X.
“Our thoughts are with Ohad Yahalomi, still in the hands of Hamas, and with his family. France is doing everything it can to secure his release without delay.”
In exchange for the three hostages, Israel is expected to release 183 Palestinian prisoners, including 72 serving long-term sentences.
Saturday’s hand-off came after Hamas released three hostages on Thursday, along with five Thai nationals kidnapped during the 2023 attack.
Israel meanwhile freed 110 Palestinian prisoners, but delayed their release by hours over the chaotic scene of Palestinian mobs swarming and screaming at the handoff site in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Following Saturday’s swap, an estimated 79 hostages are still being held captive in Gaza, with roughly 30 believed to be dead.
In exchange for the 33 live and dead hostages Hamas promised to release the end of the first phase of the deal, Israel will have freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are serving life sentences.
With Post wires
