AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images
The names of the 33 hostages expected to be released as part of the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas have been published. The deal is awaiting approval by the Israeli government’s full cabinet.
The hostages who may soon regain their freedom are mostly women and elderly people. The release is expected to take place over a six-week period, with the first three hostages possibly being freed on Sunday if the deal is approved.
Only 22 of the hostages are believed to be alive. The list includes two children, Ariel Bibas, 5, and Yarden Bibas, 2, who have captured the world’s attention after a video showed their mother holding them as they were taken hostage.
Two of seven American hostages are set to be freed: Keith Siegel, 65, and Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36.
Earlier this year, The Daily Wire interviewed Dekel-Chen’s father, who described his son as a hardworking man. Dekel-Chen was taken hostage on October 7, after hiding his pregnant wife and children in a safe room before going to help defend his kibbutz.
Siegel, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is an occupational therapist. His wife was freed in the November 2023 hostage deal.
In exchange for the hostages, about 1,000 Palestinian terrorists will be released from Israeli prisons during the first phase. The Israel Defense Forces will also withdraw from parts of the Gaza Strip under the agreement. The 65 hostages who will remain after the first phase of the deal will be negotiated for in later stages.
The hostages who will be released are:
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