By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2025-01-16 01:00:06 | Updated at 2025-01-16 04:56:04
4 hours ago
At least two American hostages are expected to be freed from Hamas in the first phase of the newly announced cease-fire deal between the terror group and Israel.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, and Keith Siegel, 65, were both included on a list of 33 hostages Hamas agreed to free if the deal, revealed Wednesday, is ratified by the Israeli government when it convenes Thursday morning.
They are believed to be among the last three surviving Americans still held by Hamas.
Edan Alexander, a 20-year-old from New Jersey, is also believed to be alive — but is unlikely to be released until the second phase of the cease-fire deal.
Four other Americans — Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, and Gadi and Judi Haggai — have been confirmed dead, according to Israeli officials.
The surviving Americans’ conditions remain unclear. The first wave of hostages expected to be released are supposed to focus on women, children, men over 50, and the sick and the wounded.
Siegel was abducted along with his wife Aviva from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists swept into Israel and made off with at least 250 hostages and killed around 1,200 people.
The couple were kept in captivity together for 51 days, before Aviva developed a dangerous stomach infection and was released as part of the first cease-fire deal in November 2023.
“I just don’t know what kind of Keith that we’re going to get back,” Aviva told Fox News in December.
“I’m worried about all the hostages, because the conditions that they are in are the worst conditions that any human being could go through,” she added. “I was there. I touched death. I know what it feels being underneath the ground with no oxygen.”
Dekel-Chen was one of the first people to spot the approaching Hamas incursion at Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of Oct. 7, and raised the alarm to his neighbors before locking his wife and children away in their home’s safe room.
He then went back outside into harm’s way to help the kibbutz security team, and was last heard from around 9:30 a.m., according to the Times of Israel.
His father, Connecticut native Jonathan Dekel-Chen, said his son’s family heard him battling the terrorists.
“My daughter-in-law and the kids are now traumatized,” the father said. “Avital heard her husband struggling in hand-to-hand combat.”
Alexander grew up in New Jersey, but was serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) when Hamas attacked last year.
He was last seen in a Hamas propaganda video in early December, marking his 420th day in captivity, which his family took as a hopeful sign that he was still alive.
Young men and soldiers like Alexander are expected to be released with the second wave of hostages, and his father is hopeful he’ll see his son again soon.
“It’s a long time coming. Enough is enough. We’ve been so close before and I’m happy that this time we’ve been able to pass it over the finish line,” his father, Adi Alexander, told The Post Wednesday.
The cease-fire deal is set to open a 42-day pause in fighting, and include three phases of hostage releases in return for the freeing of Hamas prisoners.
Of the 97 hostages still in captivity, only about 60 are believed to be alive.
