Hamas has included an American-Israeli in its hostage releases for the first time since the militant group’s cease-fire agreement with Israel came into effect two weeks ago.
On Saturday, Hamas handed the hostage, Keith Siegel, over to the Red Cross at a ceremony in Gaza City, with dozens of rifle-wielding militants standing nearby.
Mr. Siegel, 65, and his wife, Aviva Siegel, 63, were abducted in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. They were taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a small farming community near Israel’s border with Gaza.
Palestinian militants released his wife, Aviva, during a short-lived cease-fire in November 2023, and she has since been campaigning for her husband’s freedom.
Mr. Siegel, a North Carolina native, immigrated in 1980 to Israel, where he has worked as an occupational therapist. He and his wife have nine children and grandchildren.
In June, Mr. Siegel’s brother, Lee Siegel, described the agony of watching rounds of cease-fire talks, only to have his hopes be dashed days later.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to have this yo-yo experience once again,” Lee said at the time. “Every day that goes by, it becomes exponentially more difficult to continue with hope.”
The current cease-fire was reached after more than a year of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
On Saturday, Leora Schwartz, Lee’s sister-in law, said she felt some relief in seeing Keith walk out of captivity.
“You feel like you can breathe again,” she said in a phone interview.
The Israeli authorities have said they believe that only two other American-Israeli hostages are still living. One is due to be freed in the coming four weeks, and the other in the second phase of the cease-fire.
The Israeli authorities have said they believe that Palestinians militants in Gaza are holding four bodies of dual American-Israeli citizens.
Hamas and Israel have not yet negotiated the details of the second phase of the cease-fire, but those talks are expected to start in the coming days.
Relatives of hostages scheduled to come out in the second phase have expressed concerns that Israel could return to war against Hamas after the first phase if the militant group does not agree to give up its control over Gaza. They worry that such a scenario could endanger their loved ones.