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Keith Siegel, a 65-year-old U.S. citizen abducted by Hamas, was freed Saturday as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, ending an agonizing 15-month wait for his family.
Siegel is one of three male hostages released, Hamas said. The two others are Ofer Kalderon, 54, and Yarden Bibas, 35. In exchange, Israel is expected to free 90 Palestinian prisoners.
Siegel, Kalderon and Bibas were among the more than 200 hostages taken to Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and sparking a devastating war.
Raised in North Carolina, Siegel immigrated to Israel as a young man and became a dual U.S-Israeli citizen. He and his wife, Aviva, settled in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Both were kidnapped from their home during the Oct. 7 attack. Aviva was released in November 2023, along with dozens of women and children, during a brief ceasefire deal.
On Friday, Keith and Aviva's daughter Shir shared a video of Aviva crying tears of joy after learning that Keith was on the list to be released the next day. The two women embrace. "Dad's coming," Aviva says.
Securing the release of U.S. citizens held in Gaza is a priority for President Donald Trump. Four other Americans taken hostage by Hamas were released in 2023.
Another American, Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 36-year-old father of three, is also expected to be freed during the current ceasefire.
A third U.S. citizen held captive, Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old from New Jersey, was serving in the Israeli military. The release of Israeli soldiers taken hostage is part of negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire.
The bodies of four U.S. citizens killed in the Oct. 7 attack are still believed to be held in Gaza.
During the current six-week ceasefire, a total of 25 hostages, as well as the remains of eight deceased captives, are expected to be freed by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
For Keith's family in Israel and the United States, Friday marked the beginning of the end of months of anguish.
Aviva said that during their initial weeks in captivity, the couple was moved 13 times, from airless tunnels to apartments.
When she was released in 2023, she had a last glimpse of Keith, her husband of more than 40 years. He was lying on a grimy mattress in an apartment, his hand wounded by a bullet. She implored him to stay strong for her.
Keith was next seen in a Hamas video released in April 2024, gaunt and weeping. Last month his elderly mother died in North Carolina.
The youngest of four siblings, Keith was born in California and raised in Chapel Hill. He first came to Israel to work on a kibbutz cultivating cotton and wheat.
He and Aviva had four children of their own and became doting grandparents. Keith worked at a pharmaceutical company, and Aviva taught preschool.
After Aviva was freed, she campaigned tirelessly for Keith's release. When the ceasefire agreement was reached earlier this month, she and her daughter Shir were in Washington for meetings with U.S. officials. As the deal was announced, they wept with happiness at the news that Keith might be coming home at last.