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Keith Siegel, an American-Israeli, was freed by Hamas on Saturday morning in a hostage-for-prisoner swap. This marks the first time a US citizen has been released by the terror group as part of the current cease-fire agreement.
The release took place just before 10:30 a.m. local time, coordinated by the Red Cross in conjunction with Hamas. Siegel had been held captive for the past 484 days before his release.
Siegel, aged 65 and working as an occupational therapist from Chapel Hill, N.C., was abducted alongside his wife, Aviva, during a Hamas raid on their home at Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023.
Aviva was released in November 2023 during a previous hostage-for-prisoner swap, and subsequently lobbied then-President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring her husband of 43 years home.
“It’s just cruel to think that he’s [been] in such terrible conditions for so long,” she told The Post last October, recalling being held captive in Hamas’ claustrophobic tunnels with little oxygen, food or water.
“What they’re going through is the cruelest thing on Earth.”
Siegel — holding the bizarre “gift bag” — was escorted by two Hamas terrorists and presented on stage before being handed over to the Red Cross.
Siegel was last seen alive alongside fellow Israeli hostage Omri Miran in a Hamas propaganda clip released in April. In the clip, the father of four and grandfather of five — who moved to Israel four decades ago — appeared gaunt, and cried while begging for a cease-fire deal.
During his time in captivity, Siegel’s mother, Gladys, died.
After it was announced he would be released Saturday, Siegel’s daughter posted a video on Instagram that captured Aviva yelping with joy, “Dad is coming! Dad is on the list!”
Yarden Bibas, the father of the youngest Israeli child kidnapped by Hamas, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon were released earlier Saturday in Khan Younis.
With Siegel’s release, only two other American hostages still being held by Hamas are thought to be alive: Father of three Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, and Edan Alexander, 20, an IDF soldier who most likely will be released in the second phase of the cease-fire deal.
Four other American hostages — Itay Chen, Omer Neutra and Gadi and Judi Haggai — have been confirmed dead by Israeli officials.
With Post wires.