Ceasefire in Gaza: American citizen and father of the Bibas family among hostages to be released Saturday

The Hamas terrorist group handed over the list of hostages it will release next Saturday to Qatari and Egyptian mediators as part of its ceasefire agreement with Israel. They are Keith Siegel, a 65-year-old American who emigrated to the Jewish state as a young man; Yarden Bibas (35), husband of Shiri (33) and father of little Ariel and Kfir, an Argentine-Israeli family who became a symbol for the hostage struggle after they were kidnapped during the Oct. 7 massacre; and Ofer Kalderon (54).

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the list was approved and that the families of the hostages, who will be released after 484 days in the hands of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, were informed.

In exchange for the hostages' return to Israel, Jerusalem will release nine Palestinian terrorists sentenced to life in prison and 81 others serving long prison terms, Israeli media reported.

Keith Siegel

Keith Siegel will be reunited with his wife Aviva, who was released in November 2023 as part of a ceasefire reached at that time between Israel and Hamas, after they were kidnapped together during the brutal terrorist attack.

Yarden Bibas

Regarding Yarden Bibas, Israel on Thursday demanded a clear answer on the fate of his wife Shiri and their two children. Images of the kidnapping of the parents and children Ariel and Kfir, aged 4 years and 9 months old, respectively, at the time of the attack, went around the world and became a symbol of the struggle for the freedom of the hostages and the cruelty of Hamas.

Ofer Kalderon

Ofer Kalderon's sons, Sahar and Erez, were kidnapped along with him on Oct. 7, 2023, and were released in the first ceasefire agreement reached in 2023.

82 hostages still being held in Gaza

Hamas still holds 82 hostages, 23 of whom should be released in the next phases of the first part of the agreement. Of the latter, only 15 are estimated to be alive.

All this comes after Thursday, when Israeli hostages Agam Berger (20), Arbel Yehud (29) and Gadi Moses (80) and five Thai nationals were returned by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel expressed outrage over the release of Arbel Yehud, Gadi Moses and the five Thai citizens, as they were surrounded by a crowd of shouting Gazans while being accompanied by armed terrorists in Khan Younis. For this reason, Jerusalem postponed the release of the Palestinian prisoners.

However, an understanding was finally reached between the Israeli authorities and the mediators, so Jerusalem released the prisoners with a short delay.