Hamas releases U.S. hostage Keith Siegel

Hamas releases U.S. hostage Keith Siegel a 65-year-old citizen of Israel and the United States, and two other male hostages were released Saturday as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

He is the fourth round of hostages-for-prisoners exchanges under the Gaza ceasefire with Israel, and the Rafah crossing to Egypt reopened for the first time in eight months to allow medical evacuations.

Hamas releases U.S. hostage Keith Siegel

Siegel, 65, a citizen of the United States and Israel, and two Israeli men — Ofer Kalderon, 54, and Yarden Bibas, 35 — were freed. Saturday morning after 15 months in captivity in tightly choreographed handover ceremonies at two sites in Gaza. Their transfers were more orderly than previous releases.

Israel released 183 Palestinians, according to Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency. They included 111 who were detained in Gaza by the Israeli military after Oct. 7, 2023.

And held without trial in prisons. Freed detainees and rights group advocates say they’ve been subject to frequent abuse and violence.

Also, on Saturday, medical and humanitarian officials began evacuating the first group of seriously ill or wounded patients in Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt since it was closed by Israeli forces in May.

Hamas-led fighters launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel responded with a military campaign to eradicate Hamas. Due to this more than 47,000 innocent Palestinians were killed inside Gaza.