Father of the youngest hostages from Gaza stands before release on Saturday

Father of the youngest hostages from Gaza stands before release on Saturday

Hamas announced on Friday that at the upcoming release of three Israeli hostages from Gaza on Saturday, an American double citizen and the father of the youngest hostage, who was kidnapped from Israel on October 7, 2023, are present.

Details of the kidnapped hostages

The three men whose release was announced are Keith Siegel, Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon. The Israeli Prime Minister's office confirmed that their families were informed.

Keith Siegel, An Israelisch-American citizen kidnapped. His wife Aviva, who was kidnapped at the same time, was released in November 2023 as part of a short -lived ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

yarden Bibas was kidnapped together with his wife Shiri and his two sons Kfir and Ariel from the Kibbutz Nir Oz. Kfir was only nine months old at the time of kidnapping and is the youngest hostage that was taken on October 7th.

in November 2023, Hamas claimed that Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas died in an Israeli air raid, and published a video of Yarden Bibas in which he held Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their death. A spokesman for the Israeli military described the video as "psychological terror" and Israel never confirmed the death of the family, but informed the relatives that they could no longer live, according to a spokesman for the hostage and missing families.

more information about the hostages

OFER KALDERON was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz at the age of 52 together with his son Erez, who was 11 years old, and his daughter Sahar, who was 16 years old. Erez and Sahar were also released during the armistice in November 2023.

The forum for hostages and missing families confirmed the names of the hostages, and the office of the Israeli Prime Minister announced that the families of the hostages were informed.

progress in hostage exemption

Since the ceasefire came into force on January 19, Hamas and allied militant groups have released a total of 10 Israeli and 5 Thai hostages. The chaotic scenes around the release of the hostages in Gaza on Thursday Criticism on the part of Israeli leaders and initially delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners, who were ultimately released later in the day. Netanyahu described these events as "shocking" and asked by the agents of the ceasefire - Qatar, Egypt and the United States - guarantee that the incident would not be repeated.

It is expected that Hamas will expose another 23 hostages during the 42-day ceasefire, including the three who are supposed to be released on this Saturday. The Israeli government confirmed eight of them as dead.

the exchange of prisoners

In return, Israel Hundreds People free, some of whom are detained without indictment, while others were convicted of serious crimes - 30 for every civilian victim, 50 for every Israeli soldier and 110 for the nine hostages who are injured or sick and not soldiers.

On Friday, Hamas and her allies still recorded 79 people who were kidnapped from Israel on October 7, 2023, as well as three other hostages that have been held since 2014.

The Bibas family in focus

The Bibas family, especially the small kfir, became one of the most famous victims of the terrorist attacks on October 7th. Kfir's picture could be seen on many posters that called for the hostage of the hostages worldwide. On one of these posters the Red-haired young Elephant toys in hand and smiles directly into the camera.

The two boys and their mother were In November 2023 not from Gaza released when many women and children were released.

Shiri Bibas is one of four Israeli women who are still captured in Gaza. The other three - Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, Inbar Hayman, 27 and Ofra Keidar, 70 - are thought to be dead by the Israeli military. Kfir and Ariel Bibas are the last remaining children in captivity.

The fate of hostages

Both seals and Kalderon were kidnapped together with some of their family members, several of whom were released in November 2023 as part of the short -lived ceasefire. Her experiences give an insight into the cruel realities that the hostages are exposed.

aviva Siegel reported that Keith, in its captivity, asked everyone to name a thing every day for which they are grateful. "Imagine you are in the depths of hell and still try to find something every day that you are grateful for," she said, according to the forum for hostages and missing families.

A video of Siegel in captivity was published by Hamas last April. In conversation with cnn described Aviva Siegel that her husband looked pale and tired. "He is 65 years old. He was torn out of his house in the pajamas of Hamas terrorists and is still there, underground," she said.

The mother of Siegel, Gladys Ruth Siegel, died in December at the age of 97, as the family announced.

Kalderon was described by his family as an enthusiastic cyclist and skillful carpenter who loves music and excursions with his children.

Eugenia Yosef and Dana Karni contributed to this report.