Tel Aviv — American-Israeli twin nationwide Keith Siegel was amongst three hostages released by Hamas militants within the war-torn Gaza Strip on Saturday, greater than 15 months after they have been taken captive by the group throughout its Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist assault. Siegel was freed in Gaza Metropolis about two hours after Israelis Yarden Bibas and Ofer Calderon have been launched within the southern metropolis of Khan Younis.
The Israeli navy confirmed that each one three hostages have been in its care and again in Israel after first being handed over to Purple Cross personnel in Gaza. Siegel appeared to have misplaced weight throughout his captivity, however he waved and smiled as Hamas militants ready at hand him over to Purple Cross employees. In an announcement, the Israel Protection Forces stated the three freed males can be reunited with relations and brought for medical checks and care at hospitals in Israel.
Each handovers have been performed shortly Saturday and with out the chaos seen during the previous, third prisoner exchange, which angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who delayed the corresponding Israeli launch of Palestinian prisoners by a number of hours.
Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS
Israel was anticipated to free about 90 extra Palestinians from its prisons on Saturday in change for the discharge of the three hostages, as stipulated within the ceasefire settlement that took impact on January 19.
Keith Siegel is 1st American freed throughout new ceasefire
Initially from North Carolina, Siegel moved to Israel 4 many years in the past. He was amongst seven Americans taken as hostages into Gaza throughout Hamas’ unprecedented Oct. 7 assault, which noticed militants kill round 1,200 folks in southern Israel and take 251 others captive.
Israel’s navy assault on Hamas in response has killed greater than 47,400 folks, based on the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run Ministry of Well being, left whole neighborhoods leveled and prompted a humanitarian disaster by displacing just about your entire enclave’s inhabitants and destroying its infrastructure.
It’s believed that no less than two of the six American hostages nonetheless held in Gaza are alive — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, who grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Edan Alexander, 19, from Tenafly, New Jersey. 4 different Individuals are believed to have been killed in captivity.
Siegel’s spouse Aviva was additionally taken hostage by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, however was launched in an earlier hostage and prisoner swap in November 2023.
Talking to CBS Information a few 12 months after her launch, Aviva Siegel said there have been moments as Hamas militants compelled her and her husband by way of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip that they felt “certain we have been going to die.”
Yarden Bibas, 35, is the husband of Shiri Bibas, who was taken from their kibbutz along with her two younger youngsters Ariel and Kfir throughout the terrorist assault. Hamas claimed simply weeks after the assault that Shiri and her two youngsters have been killed in an Israeli bombing in Gaza.
In a TV interview a few 12 months later, then-Israeli authorities minister Benny Gantz indicated that officers knew what had occurred to the Bibas household, however stated he couldn’t present particulars. The truth that, beneath the phrases of the ceasefire deal, Hamas has launched girls and youngsters earlier than male hostages, prompt the remainder of Yarden Bibas’ household was certainly useless.
Reuters TV/REUTERS
Ofer Calderon, 54, was amongst 5 members of his household seized by Hamas militants from their kibbutz close to the Gaza border on Oct. 7, 2023. His two youngsters were released throughout the ceasefire in November of that 12 months, however two of his cousins have been killed.
Rafah crossing into Egypt reopened
A gaggle of fifty sick and wounded Palestinian youngsters started crossing by way of Gaza’s Rafah crossing into Egypt for therapy on Saturday, the Related Press reported. It marked the primary opening of the border since Israel captured Gaza practically 9 months in the past.
Israel agreed to reopen the crossing after Hamas launched the final residing feminine hostages in Gaza.
Hani Alshaer/Anadolu through Getty Pictures
Egyptian tv confirmed a Palestinian Purple Cross ambulance pulling as much as the crossing gate, and a number of other youngsters have been introduced out on stretchers and transferred to ambulances on the Egyptian aspect, the AP reported. Gaza’s Well being Ministry stated round 60 relations have been accompanying the kids.
Rafah is Gaza’s solely crossing that doesn’t enter into Israel. It was closed by Israeli forces in early Might after it was seized throughout an offensive on the southern metropolis. Egypt shut down its aspect of the crossing in protest.
BASHAR TALEB/AFP through Getty Pictures
Mohammed Zaqout, the director of hospitals in Gaza’s Well being Ministry, advised the AP that greater than 6,000 sufferers have been able to be evacuated overseas and greater than 12,000 sufferers urgently wanted therapy. He stated the small numbers set to be evacuated is not going to cowl the necessity, “and we hope the quantity will enhance.”
What has the ceasefire completed and what comes subsequent?
Hamas is anticipated to free a complete of 33 Israeli hostages throughout the first, six-week part of the ceasefire and hostage launch deal, which took impact on January 19. After the discharge on Saturday, 18 have been freed thus far. With every launch of Israeli hostages, scores of Palestinians have been free of Israeli prisons, with roughly 30 being let out for each hostage returned to Israel alive.
Section one of many deal was to see all Israeli girls, youngsters and male hostages over the age of fifty launched in change for a whole lot of Palestinian prisoners, along with a dramatically elevated stream of humanitarian support into Gaza and the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from some areas of the territory.
On the sixteenth day of the ceasefire, which might be Monday, negotiations to ascertain the steps for the second part are supposed to start, based on a draft of the settlement shared with CBS Information by a senior Hamas official.
There have been just a few moments the place it appeared the delicate settlement might disintegrate, together with when hostage Arbel Yehoud was not launched as Israel stated she ought to have been in one of many first exchanges. Fast negotiations led to a decision of the dispute, and Yehoud was amongst these freed by militants in Gaza within the third change on Thursday.
“Any deal that takes two or three months to finish a warfare is a nasty deal, as a result of it will probably go off the rails at any level, and at any level both one of many sides can accuse the opposite of breaching,” Israeli analyst and former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin advised CBS Information on Friday.
“We have already had mutual accusations of breach. Proper now, either side are desirous about no less than bringing this ahead to the tip of the 42 days” of part one, Baskin stated.
Baskin, who has intensive expertise negotiating with Hamas, cautioned that “you could not have the 2 events additional aside” forward of the anticipated negotiations over the second part of the deal.
“What we hear from the Israeli aspect is that they won’t finish the warfare or withdraw from Gaza, and what we hear from Hamas is that there isn’t any deal except it ends the warfare and brings about an Israeli withdrawal,” he stated.
However Baskin added that the brand new Trump administration within the U.S. would probably play an integral function in figuring out how the negotiations really go.
“I feel it is all on the shoulders of Trump,” Baskin advised CBS Information. “If Trump is decided that it will happen, Netanyahu can’t go towards him. Netanyahu might attempt to create some type of provocation, main Hamas to breach the ceasefire, through which case Israel will say to the Individuals, ‘They breached it and now we’ve to return to warfare.’ If Trump says sure, then that is the tip. If Trump says ‘no, you possibly can’t return to warfare,’ then we are going to transfer into part two.”
