All three Israeli captives are in Tel Aviv
The three former captives – Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas – have now all arrived in Tel Aviv after being transported separately from the reception point in southern Israel by helicopter.
Kalderon and Bibas were taken to Sheba Hospital, while Siegel arrived at Sourasky Medical Centre, also known as the Ichilov Hospital.
Keith Siegel, left, accompanied by his wife Aviva, striped shirt, walk upon disembarking from a military helicopter at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichlov) on February 1
Release of Israeli captives ‘demonstrates triumph of human spirit’: Families’ forum
An Israeli campaign group representing the families of most of the captives says the release of the three Israelis today “brings a ray of light” after more than 15 months of captivity in Gaza.
“Their release today brings a ray of light in the darkness, offering hope and demonstrating the triumph of the human spirit,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement, after captives Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon were freed.
Activists who have been protesting weekly for the release of captives in Gaza celebrate the release of French Israeli Ofer Kalderon, Tel Aviv, February 1
Israeli society feels ‘opposite of triumphant’
Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg says the majority of the Israeli society does not see any achievement in the conflicts led by their country in Gaza and beyond.
“[Israel] fought an unprecedented campaign in Gaza and across the Middle East,” he told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv. “What it has ended up achieving under conditions that were dictated by Israel is exactly bare minimum – nothing has been achieved and there is a lot of frustration,” he added.
Goldberg said “most of the Israelis of all political tribes have been defining the return of the hostages as the minimum upholding of the contract between the state and its citizens”.
“That is the bare minimum – protecting citizens and getting them back when they must,” the analyst added.
Israel demands mediators provide information on family of released captive
Israel has demanded information from mediators who brokered the ceasefire in Gaza about the fate of three family members of freed captive Yarden Bibas, who were captured on October 7, 2023.
“Yarden has returned home. But his wife Shiri and his children Ariel and Kfir have not. We have been searching for them for a long time, tracking their traces and investigating their fate,” Gal Hirsch, Israel’s captives coordinator, said in a statement.
Bibas’s son Kfir is two years old and is the youngest captive held in Gaza; his older brother Ariel is five years old.
“The Bibas family … has been living in constant fear for their lives for a long time … We continue to demand information about their condition from the mediators,” he said.
Hamas fighters escort Yarden Bibas on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Khan Younis on February 1, 2025, as part of the fourth captives-prisoner exchange
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