First American hostage, dad of youngest captive held in Gaza among next to be released by Hamas, terror group says
Palestinian terror group Hamas said on Friday it would free the father of the youngest hostages seized in its Oct.7, 2023 attack on Israel and two others including a dual US citizen in the next exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon will be handed over on Saturday, Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said in a post on his Telegram channel.Yarden Bibas is the father of baby Kfir, only nine months old when he was kidnapped, and Ariel, who was four at the time of the cross-border attack.There was no word on the fate of Kfir and Ariel, or on their mother Shiri, who was taken at the same time.
Hamas said in late 2023 that they had been killed by Israeli bombardment, in the early months of the Gaza war.Video of their capture began circulating soon after they were seized.It showed a terrified Shiri clutching her small children in a blanket as they were bundled into captivity surrounded by terror assailants.The father, Yarden, 34 at the time of the attack, was also abducted and a clip circulated showing him bleeding from a head injury suffered from hammer blows.Israeli-American Keith Siegel, who was taken hostage with his wife Aviva, was seen in a video released by Hamas last year.
His wife was released in the first hostage-for-prisoner exchange in November 2023.Ofer Kalderon’s two children Erez and Sahar, abducted alongside him, were also released in the first exchange.On Thursday, Hamas freed three Israeli and five Thai hostages in Gaza while Israel freed 110 Palestinian prisoners after delaying the process in anger at the swarming crowds engulfing one of the hostage handover points.Under the cease-fire deal that halted more than 15 months of fighting, 33 hostages held by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza are to be freed in the first six weeks of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been serving life sentences in Israel....