Overview

• Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, and Ofer Kalderon were freed by Hamas after 15 months in captivity as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
• Bibas’ wife, Shiri, and their two young children remain unaccounted for, with conflicting claims about their fate, intensifying Israeli concerns.
• Hamas has exchanged hostages for 183 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom show signs of severe mistreatment during their detention in Israeli prisons.
• Keith Siegel, the first American hostage released under the truce, was abducted during Hamas’ October 2023 attack; six other Americans remain in Gaza, with four presumed dead.
• The ceasefire agreement, brokered with international mediation, is in its early stages and aims to secure the release of additional hostages while addressing broader humanitarian and political issues.