American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 2 other hostages released in Gaza in 3rd exchange of Israel-Hamas ceasefire

Tel Aviv — American-Israeli twin nationwide Keith Siegel was amongst three hostages launched 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 army confirmed that every one three hostages have been in its care and again in Israel after first being handed over to Pink 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 Pink Cross employees. In an announcement, the Israel Protection Forces mentioned the three freed males can be reunited with members of the family and brought for medical checks and care at hospitals in Israel.

Each handovers have been carried out shortly Saturday and with out the chaos seen in the course of the earlier, third prisoner alternate, which angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who delayed the corresponding Israeli launch of Palestinian prisoners by a number of hours. 

Israel was anticipated to free about 90 extra Palestinians from its prisons on Saturday in alternate 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 individuals in southern Israel and take 251 others captive.

Israel’s army assault on Hamas in response has killed greater than 47,400 individuals, in response to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run Ministry of Well being, left total neighborhoods leveled and brought about a humanitarian disaster by displacing just about the complete enclave’s inhabitants and destroying its infrastructure.

It’s believed that not 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 People 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.

Chatting with CBS Information a couple of yr after her launch, Aviva Siegel mentioned there have been moments as Hamas militants compelled her and her husband by means of tunnels underneath 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 kids Ariel and Kfir in the course of the terrorist assault. Hamas claimed simply weeks after the assault that Shiri and her two kids have been killed in an Israeli bombing in Gaza.

In a TV interview a couple of yr later, then-Israeli authorities minister Benny Gantz indicated that officers knew what had occurred to the Bibas household, however mentioned he couldn’t present particulars. The truth that, underneath the phrases of the ceasefire deal, Hamas has launched girls and kids earlier than male hostages, advised the remainder of Yarden Bibas’ household was certainly useless.

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 kids have been launched in the course of the ceasefire in November of that yr, however two of his cousins have been killed. 

What has the ceasefire completed and what comes subsequent?

Hamas is anticipated to free a complete of 33 Israeli hostages in the course of 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 up to now. 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, kids and male hostages over the age of fifty launched in alternate for a whole bunch of Palestinian prisoners, along with a dramatically elevated circulation of humanitarian assist 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 determine the steps for the second part are supposed to start, in response to 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 may disintegrate, together with when hostage Arbel Yehoud was not launched as Israel mentioned 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 alternate on Thursday.

“Any deal that takes two or three months to finish a struggle is a nasty deal, as a result of it might 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 informed CBS Information on Friday. 

“We have already had mutual accusations of breach. Proper now, each side are involved in not less than bringing this ahead to the top of the 42 days” of part one, Baskin mentioned.

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 struggle or withdraw from Gaza, and what we hear from Hamas is that there is no such thing as a deal until it ends the struggle and brings about an Israeli withdrawal,” he mentioned. 

However Baskin added that the brand new Trump administration within the U.S. would possible play an integral function in figuring out how the negotiations really go.

“I feel it is all on the shoulders of Trump,” Baskin informed CBS Information. “If Trump is decided that this may happen, Netanyahu can’t go towards him. Netanyahu might attempt to create some sort of provocation, main Hamas to breach the ceasefire, through which case Israel will say to the People, ‘They breached it and now we’ve got to return to struggle.’ If Trump says sure, then that is the top. If Trump says ‘no, you’ll be able to’t return to struggle,’ then we are going to transfer into part two.”

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