Three hostages released by Hamas, including Israeli American Keith Siegel

The International Committee of the Red Cross said today that it has completed the fourth phase of the hostage and prisoner exchange, after transferring three hostages out of Gaza to Israel. A total of 183 Palestinian detainees were released from Israeli custody today.

“This marks the completion of the fourth phase of release operations,” it said, noting that it had now facilitated the total return of 18 hostages and 583 prisoners.

The Red Cross was not involved in the negotiations, and acts as “a humanitarian intermediary to facilitate the agreement so that people can be return home safely.”

Forty-seven children have left the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing into Egypt today for medical treatment, according to Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the Director General of Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

Most of the children are cancer patients, Abu Salmiya said, and that Israel had allowed each patient to choose one vetted companion. He noted that two of the children slated for medical evacuation had died before today.

“The exit of 50 patients and wounded will continue daily using the same mechanism and under the supervision of the World Health Organization,” he added.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRAWA) has warned that Gaza and the people living there remain in an immensely fragile state despite the ceasefire, just days after Israel’s ban on the humanitarian agency went into effect.

Citing a study published in the The Lancet journal, UNRWA posted on X that life expectancy in the Gaza Strip had dropped from “a pre-war average of 75.5 years to 40.5 years for the period between October 2023 and September 2024.”

It also said 75% of the fields once used to grow crops and olive tree orchards in the strip have been damaged or destroyed, referencing a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

UNRWA also said 16 Palestinians had be killed and more than 60 injured in the occupied West Bank after the Israeli military launched “a new large-scale operation.”

This is a fragile ceasefire. There are consistently moments where it looks like it can be knocked off balance.

Next week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump. He will be the first foreign leader to meet with Trump since the inauguration, and then later in the week, the talks for the second phase are set begin in Doha, Qatar, diplomats there have told me.

That again will be a challenge, because that’s the phase where the ceasefire agreement could be made permanent. Then there’s a third phase, which is about the potential reconstruction of Gaza, and who will govern the enclave.

An Israeli reporter here in Hostages Square told me that it’s very difficult to watch how in control Hamas appears to be even at these moments of elation.

It’s been an emotional day in Israel, a day that Keith Siegel’s family has described as one of “indescribable excitement.”

Siegel is the first Israeli American to be released in this ceasefire, and the first Israeli American to be released since his wife, Aviva Siegel, in December 2023, when he told her, “I’ll be out in a few days.” Instead, a clock across the square here tells you it’s been more than 480 days.

His daughter has delayed her wedding in order for him to be able to be there. His mom, at 98 years old, died while he was in captivity.

There are moments of elation, but also really difficult moments. Some families are being reunited, but others are not.

Yarden Bibas, who was also released today, was taken hostage along with his wife and two children, and their fate remains unkown for now.

As he walks out, it’s incredibly painful, because he will know that while he is now safe here in Israel, his wife and children are not, and the concerns for them are growing.

Among the released Palestinians is Shadi Amouri, who was detained in 2002 and was serving a life sentence, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an organization in the occupied West Bank that represents prisoners.

“Amouri faced solitary confinement for years, and was interrogated more than once, in addition to systematic abuse,” it said.

“The last time he was isolated was in 2023. He has suffered for years from the policy of depriving him of visits. He lost his mother in 2010 and was denied the opportunity to say goodbye to her.”

NBC News joined Keith Siegel’s family as they watched his handover in Gaza from their home in Kibbutz Gezer, holding their breath and looking very nervous, hands clasped at their faces.

Siegel’s relative, Leora Schwartz, said she would “just hug him,” when he returned.

He had earlier arrived at a reception point in southern Israel, according to the IDF, where it said he will undergo “an initial medical assessment and reunite with members of his family.”

The family of Israeli American hostage Keith Siegel have called his release a moment of “indescribable excitement” after he arrived in Israel earlier today, while thanking President Donald Trump for his release.

“Finally, after 484 long, terrifying days and nights, full of immense worry for our father, we can breathe again,” his family said in a statement released today by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“Thank you president Trump, for bringing our father back to us. There are now 79 hostages who are also waiting to be reunited with their loved ones. Our hope rests with you.”

Yarden Bibas has landed at Sheba Hospital following his release earlier today to enthusiastic celebration in Israel. However, Hamas had said women and children would be freed before men, making today’s release of the three men the latest indication that Bibas’ wife and children have been killed.

Bibas was abducted along with his wife, Shiri, and their two sons, Kfir, who was nearly 9 months old at the time and would have turned 2 this month, and Ariel, now 5.

Other children being held by Hamas were released during a one-week ceasefire in November 2023, but the Bibas children did not emerge.

Hamas said during that ceasefire that Shiri Bibas and the two children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike, but the Israeli military said the claims could not be confirmed. In February 2024, the Israel Defense Forces acknowledged its fears for the family.

Israeli American hostage Keith Siegel has arrived at a reception point in southern Israel, according to the IDF, where it said he will undergo “an initial medical assessment and reunite with members of his family.”

Meanwhile, Yarden Bibas has landed at Sheba Hospital in Israel after he was transported there by an Israeli Air Force helicopter.

The two hostages were released earlier in separate exchanges in Khan Younis and the Port of Gaza.

Cheering Palestinians greeted the prisoners released by Israel just now as they stepped off the bus that transported them to freedom in the city of Ramallah.

Men who appeared dressed in prison uniforms could scarcely make their way off the bus as people rushed in to welcome them. Many of the prisoners were held aloft by the crowd, some of them sharing deep embraces with people in the crowd.

The Red Cross bus had transported them from Ofer Prison in the West Bank.

A Red Cross bus carrying Palestinian prisoners has left Ofer prison and is on its way to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Footage of the bus showed dense crowds of Palestinians gathered round the bus as it waded into the city, with hundreds holding phones and cameras aloft.

About 180 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are expected to be released from Israeli custody in exchange for the three Israeli civilian hostages released earlier today by Hamas.

American Israeli hostage Keith Siegel has crossed into Israeli territory, according to the Israeli military.

Siegel was released by Hamas earlier today and taken from the Port of Gaza by the Red Cross, who later transferred him to Israeli custody.

“A short while ago, the returning civilian hostage, Keith Siegel, crossed the border into Israeli territory,” the IDF and IAF said in an announcement. “He is currently on his way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where he will be reunited with members of his family.”

The IDF said that Yarden Bibas, who was released earlier today by Hamas in a separate handover, is on his way to a hospital in an IAF helicopter with members of his family.

Hamas has confirmed the release of three Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement that will see Palestinian prisoners released by Israel.

In a statement citing today’s exchange, which Hamas said was an expression of “its principled commitment to the terms of the agreement,” the group called on Israel to fulfil its side of the deal, and release an expected 180 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Hamas also said it had provided “the necessary care” for 65-year-old Israeli American hostage Keith Siegel, who it said “suffers from multiple diseases.”

Hamas said “the good physical condition” of the hostages in its custody, showed “its moral commitment towards the prisoners,” accusing Israel of abusing Palestinians in its custody. Israel, the Hamas statement said, “commits the most heinous violations against our prisoners.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has celebrated the release of Ofer Kalderon, Yarden Bibas and Keith Siegel, after they were released by Hamas today.

“Their release today brings a ray of light in the darkness, offering hope and demonstrating the triumph of the human spirit,” the organization said in a statement.

“Yet their return also reminds us that 79 hostages remain in Gaza, still waiting to be saved. We will not rest until every phase of this deal is completed and every hostage is returned — the living to reunite with their loved ones, and the deceased for proper burial with dignity.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​”

Carpenter and father of four, Ofer Kalderon, 54, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led October 7 attack.

His children, Sahar, 16, and Erez, 12, were also taken but freed in November 2023 during the first hostage deal. His former wife, Hadas, and older son, Rotem, 19, survived. His eldest daughter, Gaya, 21, was in Tel Aviv.

In a video, Erez — who has since celebrated his bar mitzvah — recalled escaping by jumping out a window.

“I jumped first. He said not to look sideways, just to run,” Erez said. Captured by a terrorist, he saw his father being beaten. “That was the last time I saw him,” he said.

Five months ago, Gaya told i24: “I hope you are dreaming at night of being with us, because it is going to happen soon… just stay strong.”

Ofer Kalderon has taken off in an Israeli Air Force helicopter and will travel to a hospital where he will reunite with his family and receive medical treatment, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Kalderon, a 54-year-old carpenter and father of four, was released by Hamas earlier today and handed over to the Red Cross in the city of Khan Younis. He is expected to arrive in Sheba hospital in Israel, which also received the first three female hostages released two weeks ago.

He was released alongside Yarden Bibas, who the IDF said was due to take off shortly to fly to the hospital.

The first group of ill and wounded Palestinians in Gaza are set to to travel via the Rafah border crossing into Egypt today, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the announcement on X, saying that 50 patients would be medically evacuated from Gaza.

“This will be the first medical evacuation since the cease-fire began” he said, noting that 12,000 to 14,000 people still require urgent specialized medical care outside Gaza.

The Red Cross says it has received a hostage and are on their way to meet the Israeli military inside the Gaza Strip, according to an announcement by the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Air Force.

Keith Siegel left the Port of Gaza just moments ago in a Red Cross vehicle after he was released by Hamas.

Triumphal music, columns of armed masked men and a crowd of young men filming on their smartphones greeted Red Cross officials arrived in Gaza City to pick up Keith Siegel today.

As with previous exchanges, an unmasked Siegel walked across a stage and received a goodie bag from a masked man after the to Red Cross workers — a man and a woman in red vests — signed documents.

Unlike Thursday’s exchange where some hostages were dragged through dozens of armed, shouting men, the scene was orderly.

Previous chaotic scenes angered many in Israel, and prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

People gathered at “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv this morning to watch a live broadcast of the release of Ofir Kalderon and Yarden Bibas from Hamas captivity in Khan Younis.

Israeli American hostage Keith Siegel was paraded on stage to a cheering crowd in the Port of Gaza ahead of his release back to Israel today.

Siegel walked onto stage with a Hamas fighter, waved to the crowd, before he was led to a Red Cross vehicle that will transfer him into Israeli custody.

A member of the Red Cross was invited on stage to sign a document alongside a Hamas soldier ahead of the expected release of Israeli American hostage Keith Siegel.

The Red Cross vehicles have arrived at the Port of Gaza where Hamas are expected to handover Israeli American hostage Keith Siegel.

As with other releases, Hamas fighters surround a stage with Palestinians flags set up by the sea.

Aviva Siegel and her son Shay are on the way to meet husband and father Keith Siegel, the last of the hostages expected to be handed over today. 

Two other hostages, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas, were handed over earlier in the city of Khan Younis.

“The big day has come Shirkush,” Siegel says in a video posted on her daughter Shir’s Instagram account. “Yes! I’m happy, happy, so happy! There’s no one happier than me! I’m ready with all my things. Let’s go.”

Video shows the moments Hamas handed over Kalderon, the first Israeli hostage released in the latest exchange.

Kalderon, surrounded by masked and armed soldiers, is seen in the video walking up onto a stage in Khan Younis. He holds a sheet of paper and waves to the crowd.

A total of 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are expected to be released today, according to the Hamas Office of Martyrs, Prisoners and Wounded.

The prisoners include 18 with life sentences, 54 with high sentences and life sentences and 111 from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after the Oct. 7 attacks, the office said.

It was not immediately clear why nearly 200 prisoners were to be released in exchange for the three hostages.

According to the terms of the deal, 30 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released from Israeli custody in exchange for each civilian hostage.

They are expected to handover Israeli American Keith Siegel, after two other hostages, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas, were handed over earlier in the city of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.

Kalderon and Bibas have arrived at an initial reception point in southern Israel, the IDF said in a statement.

Their families are waiting to reunite with them at the hospital, it said.

With the release of Yarden Bibas, questions remain over the fate of his wife and two young children who were also taken hostage on Oct. 7.

Hamas has said that his wife, Shiri Bibas, and two sons, Ariel and Kfir, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in November 2023. The Bibas family has held onto hope that they are alive and will also be released as part of the ceasefire hostage exchange.

Ariel was 5 and Kfir was just shy of 9-months-old when they were taken hostage along with their parents.

In a choregraphed handover streamed on live TV, masked and uniformed Hamas militants paraded two hostages across a stage set up in Khan Younis.

The orderly exchange with the Red Cross contrasted with Thursday’s chaotic handover.

The IDF said two of the hostages expected to be turned over today are on their way back to Israeli territory.

The two — Bibas and Kalderon — will undergo a medical assessment, the IDF said.

“The IDF is prepared to receive an additional hostage in the near future,” it said. Siegel is expected to be the third hostage to be released today.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the families of the two men have been told they “have joined our forces.”

“The government, together with all security agencies, will accompany them and their families,” the office said.

The Israel Defense Forces said it has received information from the Red Cross that two hostages were transferred to them and are on their way to IDF forces in the Gaza Strip.

Video broadcast by Sky News showed two of the hostages — Kalderon and Bibas — coming out to a platform and a handover in Khan Younis.

Several Red Cross vehicles were seen leaving the handover

Siegel was not at the Khan Younis ceremony and it was not immediately clear whether he was at a separate handover ceremony in Gaza City.

Hamas handed over Israeli hostages Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon to the Red Cross in Gaza’s Khan Younis on Saturday, live TV footage showed. 

American Israeli Keith Siegel is among the hostages set to be released Saturday, Hamas said in a statement Friday, as part of the fourth hostage-prisoner exchange with Israel.

Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon will also be released, according to Hamas’ statement.

Siegel, 65, was last seen in a video released by Hamas in April, where he spoke directly to his family to say he was doing OK. Originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Siegel was taken from kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that saw some 250 people kidnapped and about 1,200 killed.

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