Father of youngest hostages to be released by Hamas

Yahoo

31-01-2025

The father of the youngest Israeli hostage held inside Gaza is set to be released by Hamas on Saturday in the next round of exchanges.
The Palestinian terror group revealed that Yarden Bibas, 35, would be freed alongside Ofer Kalderon, 54, and 65-year-old Keith Siegel, who is also an American citizen, in a list of names handed to the Israeli government.
But as most Israelis noted, Mr Bibas's two young sons and wife were not on the list, causing further worry that they are no longer alive.
Mr Bibas was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct 7 along with his wife, Shiri, and their two sons, Ariel, five, and Kfir, two.
The family was split up during the hostage-taking and Mr Bibas spent the entire 483 days in a different location from his wife and children.
Hamas has previously claimed Mrs Bibas and her two boys were killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis. Israel has not confirmed their deaths but has expressed 'grave concern' over their wellbeing.
The family has become a symbol of the war for many Israelis.
Mr Segal was kidnapped from his home in Kfar Aza with his wife Aviva, who was released after 51 days in Hamas captivity.
She has given numerous interviews to international media since 2023, campaigning to get her husband and the remaining hostages out through a ceasefire deal.
Mrs Segal was filmed by her daughter Shir as she heard the news about Mr Segal. 'Dad's coming! Shirkush. Dad's coming. Dad's on the list,' she cried as the mother and daughter hugged each other.
Mr Segal immigrated from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, more than 40 years ago. He worked as an occupational therapist before he was taken to Gaza by Palestinian terror groups.
Lastly, 54-year-old Ofer Kalderon was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz with his children Sahar and Erez, who were released in the November 2023 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Mr Kalderon is a carpenter and has a passion for cycling, hiking and flying model planes, according to the Hostage Family Forum in Israel.
Sahar Calderon reacted to the news about her father saying: 'Thank God, oh my goodness, what a perfect morning.'
As Israel prepared to receive the three hostages on Saturday, the European Union announced it was preparing to re-open the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, said that the union's civilian border mission would be deployed at the crossing on Friday at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis.
'It will support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care,' Mrs Kallas said.
The border crossing with Egypt has been shut since May 2023, when Israeli forces took control of it during the IDF's ground invasion of Rafah.
Donald Trump, the US president, has doubled down on his insistence that Jordan and Egypt accept Palestinians from Gaza after both countries publicly rejected the plan.
'They will do it. They will do it. They're gonna do it, OK? We do a lot for them, and they're gonna do it,' Mr Trump said overnight.
Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump's Middle East envoy, estimated that it would take between 10 and 15 years to rebuild Gaza following the extensive damage from the war.
'There has been this perception that we can get to a solid plan for Gaza in five years but it's impossible. This is a 10 to 15-year rebuilding plan,' Mr Witkoff told Axios after visiting Gaza this week.
'People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and then turn around and leave… There is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there,' he added.
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