On Saturday, February 1st, the Palestinian armed group Hamas released three hostages, including one American. In exchange, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners. The family of the American hostage expressed gratitude to President Trump for his efforts in securing the release of the hostages.
The three released hostages are Keith Siegel, who holds dual Israeli and American citizenship, Ofer Kalderon with dual French and Israeli citizenship, and Yarden Bibas, an Israeli national.
On October 7, 2023, Siegel and his wife Aviva were taken from their home in Kfar Aza kibbutz. In November of the same year, Israel and Hamas reached a temporary ceasefire agreement. Aviva was released during a prisoner exchange operation while Siegel remained detained in Gaza.
Siegel’s family thanked President Trump for his efforts in securing the release of the hostages and urged the president to ensure the release of the remaining hostages.
In a statement released through the “Hostage Families Forum”, Siegel’s family expressed their gratitude to President Trump for reuniting their father with them. They stated, “Thank you, President Trump, for bringing our father back to us. There are still 79 hostages waiting to reunite with their families. Our hopes are with you.”
Siegel’s family expressed that upon his arrival in Israel, they were filled with indescribable excitement. They said, “After enduring 484 long and terrifying days and nights filled with endless worry for our father, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”
In contrast to the joyous scenes of other released hostages, the reunion of Israeli national Bibas with his family was much more somber and emotional.
Video footage showed the poignant moment when Bibas embraced his father Eli and sister Ofri. Bibas appeared visibly moved during the reunion.
Bibas, his wife Shiri, and their two sons Kfir and Ariel were abducted as hostages on October 7, 2023. Kfir was only nine months old at the time, making him the youngest hostage, while Ariel was just 4 years old.
Concerns had been raised about the survivability of Kfir, Ariel, and their mother Shiri. Hamas had previously claimed that they were killed in an Israeli airstrike during the early stage of the conflict in Gaza. Israel has not confirmed their deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomed the return of the three hostages and vowed to continue efforts to ensure the release of all hostages.
An Egyptian official informed CNN on Saturday that a Hamas delegation is expected to arrive in Cairo next week to resume negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement with Israel.