Hamas hands over US-Israeli hostage to Red Cross

Hamas has handed over the American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel to the Red Cross – the third hostage to be released on Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel.

Mr Siegel, 65, walked onto a stage set up by the sea in Gaza City before militants handed him over to waiting Red Cross officials.

Earlier, the militants released Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, to the Red Cross in similar scenes in the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

All three had been abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 2023 that sparked the war.

The truce, which began on January 19, is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Hamas militant group.

The fragile deal has held for nearly two weeks, halting the fighting and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.

A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the truce’s initial six weeks.

Israel says it has received information from Hamas that eight of those hostages were either killed in Hamas’ initial attack or have died in captivity.

French President Emmanuel Macron has hailed the release of French-Israeli citizen Mr Kalderon, while noting that another French citizen remains a hostage.

“Ofer Kalderon is free! We share the immense relief and joy of his family after 483 days of unimaginable hell,” Mr Macron posted on X.

“Our thoughts are with Ohad Yahalomi, still in the hands of Hamas, and his family. France is doing everything in its power to secure his immediate release.”

Also on Saturday, wounded Palestinians are expected to be allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt through the Rafah crossing.

It had been the only exit point for Palestinians during the war before Israel closed it in May. A European Union civilian mission was deployed on Friday to prepare for the reopening of the crossing.

The reopening would mark another key step in the first phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory.

The Health Ministry said 50 sick and wounded children are scheduled to be evacuated through the Rafah crossing along with 61 companions.

Mr Siegel, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, along with his wife, Aviva Siegel. She was released during the 2023 ceasefire and has waged a high-profile campaign to free Keith and other hostages.

Meanwhile, the release of Mr Bibas has brought renewed attention to the fate of his wife, Shiri, and their two young sons. All four were captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

A video of their abduction by armed men showed Shiri swaddling in a blanket her two red-headed boys – Ariel, four, and Kfir, just nine months old at the time.

Kfir was the youngest of about 250 people taken captive on October 7, and his plight quickly came to represent the helplessness and anger the hostage-taking stirred in Israel, where the Bibas family has become a household name.

Hamas has said Shiri and her sons were killed in an Israeli air strike. Israel has not confirmed that, but a military spokesman recently acknowledged serious concern about their fates.

Like Bibas, Mr Kalderon was also captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

In Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv, Mr Kalderon’s family hugged and cheered as they saw the images of him climbing onto the stage in Khan Younis and being transferred to the Red Cross.

Ofer Kalderon’s two children, Erez and Sahar, were abducted alongside him and released during a ceasefire in November 2023. Family members said they were not able to recover from their ordeal until their father returned.

“We are sorry it took so long, Ofer,” said Eyal Kalderon. “We will soon be a whole family again. We hope other families will soon feel like this, until the last family.”

The dozens of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel on Saturday include people serving lengthy and life sentences.

More than 100 hostages were released during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. About 80 more hostages are still in Gaza, at least a third of them believed dead. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the 33 to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire are dead.

Israel and Hamas are set next week to begin negotiating a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the release of the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.

Israel says it is still committed to destroying Hamas, even after the militant group reasserted its rule over Gaza within hours of the latest ceasefire. A key far-right partner in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is calling for the war to resume after the ceasefire’s first phase.

Hamas says it will not release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.