With a sense of deep relief, Jewish Federations welcome home Keith Siegel, Ofer Calderon and Yarden Bibas after a horrifying 484 days in Hamas captivity.
Keith Siegel is a native of North Carolina who moved to Israel 40 years ago, and is the first American citizen to be released as part of the current ceasefire agreement. He and wife Aviva were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023. Aviva was freed during a previous deal in November 2023.
Ofer Calderon is a French-Israeli citizen who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his children, Erez and Sahar. The two children were released under the terms of the previous ceasefire arrangement.
Yarden Bibas, his wife Shiri, and their children, Ariel and Kfir, were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. At the time, Kfir was just 9 months old and Ariel was 4 years old. Yarden was wounded during his kidnapping, and was seen being abducted to Gaza separately from his family. A video of Shiri clinging to her children as they were kidnapped has become an enduring image of the Hamas attacks on Israel. It is unknown whether Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel are still alive, and our community prays for their safe return home.
With every individual released from Gaza and reunited with their loved ones, we are overwhelmed with emotion and hope. Yet our community cannot fully begin to heal from the horrors of October 7 until every last one of the remaining 79 hostages is released. We pray that in the coming weeks, they all will be.