‘Dad is coming!’ Hostages Yarden, Ofer and Keith back in Israel
There are now 79 hostages remaining in Gaza, of whom at least 44 are confirmed to be dead
Hostages Yarden Bibas, Ofer Calderon, and Keith Siegel returned to Israel on Saturday morning after almost 16 months held captive in Gaza.
Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon were released from southern Gaza while US-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel, 65 was freed separately in Gaza City. Neither event featured any of the chaos of Thursday’s releases.
Video showed the moment Yarden Bibas met his father and sister at an IDF facility near Re’im after 484 days in captivity.
Yarden is seen reuniting with his father Eli and his sister Ofri. “You are sweet, your humor stayed,” Eli is heard saying to Yarden.
Yarden’s wife Shiri and sons Ariel, five, and Kfir, two, who were all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, are still held in Gaza, and Israel has said it has “grave concerns” for their fate.
Keith Siegel, 65, was the oldest living American-Israeli hostage. A North Carolina native who moved to Israel as a young adult, he was abducted in his own car from Kibbutz Kfar Aza with his wife Aviva. Aviva was released after 51 days in a temporary ceasefire in November 2023 and has advocated for him since, wearing a T-shirt daily with a photo of him on it.
“Dad is coming!” Aviva Siegel shouts in a video the family posted on Friday after hearing the news that her husband was on the list for release. Keith’s mother died during his captivity.
Ofer Calderon, 51, was abducted with his two children from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Sahar, 17, and Erez, 12, were released during the November 2023 ceasefire after 52 days in captivity. Their mother, Hadas, was a prominent voice for mothers of the children abducted on Oct. 7 and has continued to advocate for her ex-husband, a dual French-Israeli citizen.
Ofer’s family said were “overwhelmed with joy, relief and emotion” after his release. “Today, we finally embrace Ofer, seeing and truly comprehending that he is here with us,” his family say in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
“We have witnessed how, through extraordinary mental strength, he survived this hell. Ofer endured months in a nightmare, and we are proud of his ability to survive and hold onto the hope of embracing his children again.”
The family added a note of support for the remaining hostages still being held by Hamas.
There are now 79 hostages remaining in Gaza, of whom at least 44 are confirmed to be dead — 36 whose deaths were announced before the current ceasefire, and eight who are among the 33 whose release was negotiated as part of the current deal.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
