Man with Connecticut ties released in Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal
Sagui Dekel-Chen grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The 36-year-old has dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship and spent 498 days as a captive in Gaza. He is a husband and now a father of three.
'In the coming hours, he will begin his rehabilitation process,' his family wrote in a press release. 'He will meet his daughters Gali and Bar and, for the first time, meet his little daughter, Shahar, who was born while he was in captivity.'
Israel and Hamas complete their latest exchange as ceasefire's first phase has just 2 weeks left
The hostage release happened as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Israel calling for the elimination of Hamas.
'Frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern, or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible,' Rubio said.
Dekel-Chen was last seen on Oct. 7, 2023, kissing his pregnant wife as he locked her and their daughters inside a safe room. As happy as they are to welcome Sagui home, the Deckel-Chen family acknowledged the work is far from over.
Man with Connecticut ties to be released in Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal
'We did everything we could on all fronts to reach this moment, and we will continue to act until the last hostage returns home – this is our duty,' they wrote.
The president set a deadline of this past Saturday for Hamas to release all its hostages but left it up to Israel what to do if the deadline was not met.
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