American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, center left, waves as he is escorted by Hamas fighters to be handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Saturday Feb.1, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

A freed Israeli hostage said Friday (February 14, 2025) that Hamas militants starved and tortured him during captivity, as the Red Cross expressed concern over the condition of those still held in Gaza.

Hamas is set to release three more captives on Saturday in the sixth hostage-prisoner swap under a ceasefire deal with Israel.

“When I was in Gaza, I lived in constant fear, fear for my life and my personal safety,” Keith Siegel, an Israel-American who was freed on February 1, said in a video statement addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump.

“The terrorists kicked me, spat on me, and held me with no water, no light, and no air to breathe.

“I was starved and tortured, both physically and emotionally,” he said.

The mother of another released hostage, Liri Albag, told Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot that her daughter sometimes had nothing to eat for days, and “at times, they ate food meant for donkeys”.

Shiri Albag, in comments published on Thursday, said there was “minimal hygiene” in Gaza and recalled how her daughter’s captives taunted her with videos of the male hostages being beaten and abused.

“Liri told us right at the beginning, ‘I came out of hell and we went through hell there, but the boys, the soldiers, are going through more than us,'” Shiri Albag said in a separate interview with Israel’s Channel 12 news.

The latest allegations of abuse in captivity came hours as the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has facilitated the ongoing hostage-prisoner swaps between Israel and Hamas, said it was concerned about those still in Gaza.

“The latest release operations reinforce the urgent need for ICRC access to those held hostage. We remain very concerned about the conditions of the hostages,” the Red Cross said in a statement on X.

“We have consistently reiterated that release and transfer operations should be carried out in a dignified and safe manner.

“The ICRC will continue our efforts to see all hostages released, until the last hostage is returned.”

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on January 19, the two sides have conducted five hostage-prisoner swaps.

During the fifth exchange on February 8, Hamas forced three hostages to thank their captors in front of crowds of Palestinians gathered to witness their release in Gaza.

The emaciated appearance of the hostages shocked their families and the world, and prompted the ICRC to call on Hamas to ensure subsequent swaps are more private and dignified.

The next hostage-prisoner exchange is scheduled for Saturday. Three additional men are to be released.

Since the ceasefire began, militants have released 16 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails.

A drone view of people gathering during the arrival of the freed Palestinian prisoners, after they were released from an Israeli jail as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 30, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Hamas and Israel will carry out their fourth hostage-prisoner swap of the Gaza ceasefire on Saturday (February 1, 2025), with the militant group to free three Israeli captives in exchange for 90 inmates in Israeli jails.

Militants in Gaza began releasing hostages after the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire with Israel took effect on January 19. The hostages have been in captivity for nearly 15 months.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have so far handed over 15 hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli campaign group, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, named the captives to be released on Saturday as Yarden Bibas, Keith Seigel, who also has U.S. citizenship, and Ofer Kalderon, who also holds French nationality.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed it had received the names of the three captives to be released.

In exchange, Israel will free 90 prisoners, nine of whom are serving life sentences, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said.

During their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which started the Gaza war, militants abducted Siegel from kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Kalderon and Bibas from kibbutz Nir Oz.

Militants took a total of 251 people hostage that day. Of those, 79 still remain in Gaza, including at least 34 the military says are dead.

Those seized include the wife and two children of Bibas, whom Hamas has already declared dead, although Israeli officials have yet to confirm that.

The two Bibas boys — Kfir, the youngest hostage, who turned two in captivity earlier this month, and his four-year-old brother Ariel — have become symbols of the suffering of the hostages held in Gaza.

The children were taken along with their mother, Shiri.

Hamas says the boys and their mother were killed in an Israeli air strike in November 2023.

Chaotic scenes

The arrangements for hostage handovers in Gaza have sometimes been chaotic, particularly for the most recent handover in the southern city of Khan Younis, which produced scenes that the Israeli prime minister condemned as “shocking”.

Woman hostage Arbel Yehud was visibly distressed as masked gunman struggled to clear a path for her through crowds of spectators desperate to witness her handover, television images showed.

Israel briefly delayed Thursday’s prisoner release in protest and the ICRC urged all parties to improve security.

“The security of these operations must be assured, and we urge for improvements in the future,” ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said.

Later on Thursday, Israeli authorities released 110 imates from Ofer prison, including high-profile former militant commander Zakaria Zubeidi, 49, who was given a hero’s welcome in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

‘Where’s Dad?’

Also freed was Hussein Nasser, who received little attention from the crowd but was at the centre of his daughters’ world.

“Where’s Dad?” Raghda Nasser asked tearfully as she moved through the crowd, an AFP correspondent reported.

Raghda, 21, hugged her father in the flesh for the first time Thursday night. Her mother was pregnant with her when he was jailed 22 years ago.

“I just visited him behind the glass in Israeli prisons. I cannot express my feelings,” Raghda said.

The fragile ceasefire hinges on the release of a total of 33 hostages in exchange for around 1,900 people – mostly Palestinians – in Israeli jails.

The truce deal has allowed a surge of aid into Gaza, where the war has created a long-running humanitarian crisis.

Negotiations for a second phase of the deal are set to start on Monday, according to a timeline provided by an Israeli official. This phase would cover the release of the remaining captives.

During the current phase, more than 462,000 war-displaced Palestinians have returned to the north of Gaza since Israel restored access on Monday, according to UN figures. Many have gone back to homes that have been completely destroyed.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday (January 22, 2025) to reiterate Washington’s support for its ally, and the two also discussed Iran and Israeli hostages in Gaza, the State Department said.

The call was Mr. Rubio’s first with Israel since the administration of Republican President Donald Trump took office on Monday (January 20, 2025). Mr. Trump and his predecessor, Democratic former President Joe Biden, have both been supporters of Israel during its wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Mr. Rubio underscored that “maintaining the United States’ steadfast support for Israel is a top priority for Trump,” the State Department said in a statement.

Mr. Rubio told Mr. Netanyahu that Washington will continue to work “tirelessly” to help free the remaining hostages in Gaza, the State Department added.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry says, while also leading to accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies.

The assault displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza and caused a hunger crisis. A ceasefire went into effect on Sunday (January 19, 2025) and has led to the release of some Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Rights groups have criticised the mounting humanitarian crisis from Israel’s Military assault. Washington has maintained its support, saying it is helping its ally in its defense against Iran-backed militant groups including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“The Secretary also conveyed that he looks forward to addressing the threats posed by Iran and pursuing opportunities for peace,” the State Department said.

A Palestinian sits near destroyed homes, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia Refugee Camp, northern Gaza Strip, on January 20, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Hamas said on Monday (January 20, 2025) it would next release hostages held in Gaza on Saturday, after an official with the Palestinian militant group had said they would be released a day later than expected.

Hamas is set to release the more than 90 hostages over the coming weeks as part of a complex ceasefire deal reached with Israel this month that could end the 15-month war in Gaza.

The militant group said in a statement that the next group of hostages would next be released on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees who are held by Israel.

Earlier, Nahed Al-Fakhouri, head of the Hamas prisoners’ media office, had said the hostages would be released on Sunday. Hamas had been expected to release four Israeli hostages on Saturday, seven days after the ceasefire came into effect.

A senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, reacted to Al-Fakhouri’s statement by telling Reuters the deadline for the hostages to be released was Saturday.

This month, Israel and Hamas agreed to a three-phase ceasefire that could bring an end to the 15-month war in Gaza. The ceasefire came into effect on Sunday with Hamas releasing three Israeli hostages. Israel also released Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The ceasefire accord outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and release of hostages taken by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Palestinians walk at a street market before a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes effect, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 19, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early on Sunday (January 19, 2025) that the ceasefire in Gaza will not begin until Israel has received a list of the hostages set to be released from Hamas.

He reiterated the warning in a statement barely an hour before the ceasefire was set to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time.

Follow More: Israel-Hamas ceasefire LIVE: Netanyahu warns Gaza ceasefire will not begin without a list of hostages

Hamas affirms commitment to ceasefire

Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons.” It said in a statement that it is committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.

The exchange raised doubts about whether the ceasefire would begin as planned. Hamas is expected to release three hostages later on Sunday in exchange for scores of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, the first step in a long process aimed at winding down the 15-month war.

The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire should see a total of 33 hostages returned from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released. Israeli forces should pull back into a buffer zone inside Gaza, and many displaced Palestinians should be able to return home. The devastated territory should also see a surge in humanitarian aid.

This is just the second ceasefire in the war, longer and more consequential than the weeklong pause over a year ago, with the potential to end the fighting for good.

Negotiations on the far more difficult second phase of this ceasefire should begin in just over two weeks. Major questions remain, including whether the war will resume after the six-week first phase and how the rest of the nearly 100 hostages in Gaza will be freed.

Israel’s Cabinet approved the ceasefire early Saturday in a rare session during the Jewish Sabbath, more than two days after mediators announced the deal. The warring sides were under pressure from both the outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump to achieve a deal before the U.S. presidential inauguration on Monday.

The toll of the war has been immense, and new details on its scope will now emerge.

Over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war killed over 1,200. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have died.

Some 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced. The United Nations says the health system, road network and other vital infrastructure have been badly damaged. Rebuilding – if the ceasefire reaches its final phase – will take several years at least. Major questions about Gaza’s future, political and otherwise, remain unresolved.

Smoke rises inside the Gaza Strip, before a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas goes into effect, as seen from southern Israel, January 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The story so far: After 15 months of fighting, which was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack in which about 1,200 people were killed, Israel and Hamas have accepted a ceasefire in Gaza. On Saturday, Israel’s 24-member cabinet gave approval to the agreement, which is expected to be implemented in three phases. The deal, which came into force on Sunday, was reached in talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. If it holds, it would provide a desperately needed relief for Gaza, the tiny strip along the Mediterranean Sea which was relentlessly bombed by Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) over the past 15 months in which over 46,000 Palestinians were killed and almost the entire population of the enclave displaced.

What are the terms?

The deal is to be implemented in three phases. In the 42-day first phase, Hamas will release 33 hostages, most of those alive, and Israel will free roughly 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners. Israel will also partially withdraw the IDF from Gaza, and allow the entry of about 600 trucks of humanitarian aid into the enclave every day. The IDF is expected to withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern Gaza, which has seen massive Israeli bombardment from Day one of the war, from the south, where most of the enclave’s population have been pushed into. If the Israeli troops withdraw from Netzarim, it would allow some of the displaced Gazans to move from the south and centre to the north.

But in the first phase, Israeli troops will remain in the Philadelphi Corridor on the Rafah crossing — which means Israel will continue to monitor Gaza’s border with Egypt. On the 16th day of the first phase, discussions are expected to begin on the second phase. If the first phase is implemented as per plan, 65 hostages will still be in Hamas’s captivity and Israeli troops will still be there at Philadelphi and some buffer zones in Gaza. In the second stage, Hamas will be required to release most of the remaining living hostages and both sides should declare a permanent end to the hostilities. The third phase will involve discussions on the ‘day after’.

Why did both parties accept a ceasefire now?

The deal accepted by both parties is not essentially different from the deal offered eight months ago. Hamas had announced earlier that it would accept a deal, provided the war is brought to a permanent end.

In May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the agreement, saying Israel would continue its military offensive in Gaza until it meets its objectives.

But a lot has changed in the region since.

Israel now believes its regional standing has become stronger. Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia organisation, has lost most of its top leadership in Israeli attacks. The IDF has killed most of the leaders of Hamas, including Yahya Sinwar. Israel carried out a massive air strike in Iran in October, targeting the Islamic Republic’s air defences and other military facilities (to which Iran hasn’t responded yet). More importantly, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria has further weakened Iran’s so-called ‘axis of resistance’ in West Asia. Mr. Assad’s Syria was the land bridge between Iran and Hezbollah. Since this land bridge is disrupted, Hezbollah will find it difficult to rearm itself. These developments have also strengthened Mr. Netanyahu’s political standing at home.

These factors probably influenced him to change his position about a deal with Hamas. But that’s not all.

After months of fighting, Israel failed to meet its declared objectives in Gaza. When he launched the war, Mr. Netanyahu said Israel would dismantle Hamas. Israeli attacks have degraded Hamas’s militant infrastructure, but Hamas reinvented itself as an insurgency, its original avatar. Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, recently said the American assessment was that Hamas recruited as many fighters as it had lost.

The inability to meet its objectives through military means might also have influenced Israel’s leaders to take a more pragmatic view of pausing the conflict and getting the hostages freed. Then, there is the Trump factor.

What role did the U.S. play?

The Biden administration has been pushing for a ceasefire for long, but it also offered full support to Israel’s war in Gaza. Washington continues to supply weapons to Israel and offer diplomatic protection to Israel at global fora. Mr. Biden’s refusal to use effective pressure tactics on Israel meant that the latter continued the war despite Washington’s public call and private diplomatic push for a ceasefire. But now, Mr. Biden can claim that a ceasefire was reached just days before he left the White House. Arab and Israeli media claim that the Trump factor also played a key role. Donald Trump had earlier said that “all hell will break loose” if there was no agreement between Israel and Hamas before he takes office on January 20 as the 47th President of the U.S. Mr. Trump’s West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff had met the negotiators and the Israeli leadership last week. Times of Israel reported, quoting Arab officials, that Mr. Witkoff managed to achieve in a single meeting more than what President Biden did the whole year.

Mr. Trump is known for his pro-Israel positions. But he had promised during his campaign that he would bring the wars in West Asia and Ukraine to an end if returned to the White House. If the war is brought to an end, besides the humanitarian angle, it would offer some stability to West Asia. Mr. Trump may not like the U.S. being drawn into another never-ending war in the region. Also, if the Israel-Hamas war pauses, the Houthis of Yemen could stop attacking Israel and the ships passing through the Red Sea. Both the U.S. and Israel carried out air strikes against the Houthis in recent months but failed to stop their attacks.

If the Red Sea calms down, normal freight traffic through the Suez Canal could resume, tamping down the inflationary pressure on the global economy.

Why is Phase 3 going to be a challenge?

As of now, the focus of both parties would be on implementing the first phase — which has a fair chance of being implemented. The second phase could see the exchange of more hostages for prisoners. But the real challenge would be Phase 3. Hamas has demanded a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Israel now realises that it cannot dismantle Hamas — the organisation would survive in one way or another. On a more practical note, Israel doesn’t want to leave Hamas as a ruling or fighting force in Gaza. This poses a dilemma for Israel. If it agrees to end the war and leave Gaza, Hamas would remain a militant insurgency in Gaza. If Israel continues to stay in Gaza, there won’t be a lasting ceasefire agreement and a war of attrition will go on.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed a security cabinet meeting to vote on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that should take effect ton January 19, in Jerusalem on January 17, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday (January 18, 2025) that Israel reserves the right to resume fighting in Gaza with U.S. support, as he pledged to bring home all hostages held in the Palestinian territory.

“We reserve the right to resume the war if necessary, with American support,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a televised statement, a day before a ceasefire is set to take effect.

Also read | Israel’s Cabinet approves deal for ceasefire in Gaza; 737 hostages to be freed in first phase

“We are thinking of all our hostages … I promise you that we will achieve all our objectives and bring back all the hostages.

“With this agreement, we will bring back 33 of our brothers and sisters, the majority (of them) alive,” he said.

He said the 42-day first phase, which starts on Sunday, was a “temporary ceasefire.”

“If we are forced to resume the war, we will do so with force,” Mr. Netanyahu said, adding that Israel had “changed the face of the Middle East” since the war began.

Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as Israel kept up strikes on the enclave following the announcement of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Israel’s Cabinet approved a deal early on Saturday (January 18, 2025) for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages that will pause the 15-month war with Hamas for six weeks.

The deal brings Israel and Hamas a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting ever.

The ceasefire — just the second achieved during the war — is expected to begin Sunday.

Mediators Qatar and the U.S. announced the ceasefire Wednesday, but the deal was in limbo for more than a day as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted there were last-minute complications that he blamed on the Hamas militant group.

The ceasefire — just the second achieved during the war — will go into effect Sunday, though key questions remain, including the names of the 33 hostages to be released during the six-week first phase of the ceasefire and who among them is still alive.

Netanyahu instructed a special task force to prepare to receive the hostages returning from Gaza and said that their families were informed a deal had been reached.

Hundreds of Palestinian detainees are to be released as well, and the largely devastated Gaza should see a surge in humanitarian aid.

Israel’s justice ministry published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the deal’s first phase and said the release will not begin before 4 p.m. local time Sunday. All people on the list are younger or female.

Israel’s Prison Services said it will transport the prisoners instead of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which handled transportation during the first ceasefire, to avoid “public expressions of joy.” The prisoners have been accused of crimes like incitement, vandalism, supporting terror, terror activities, attempted murder or throwing stones or Molotov cocktails.

Trucks carrying aid lined up Friday on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. An Egyptian official said an Israeli delegation from the military and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency arrived Friday in Cairo to discuss the reopening of the crossing. An Israeli official confirmed a delegation was going to Cairo. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.

Israeli forces will also pull back from many areas in Gaza during the first phase of the ceasefire and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will be able to return to what’s left of their homes.

Israel’s military said that as its forces gradually withdraw from specific locations and routes in Gaza, residents will not be allowed to return to areas where troops are present or near the Israel-Gaza border and any threat to Israeli forces “will be met with a forceful response.”

Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people and left some 250 others captive. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.

Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half the dead.

Fighting continued into Friday, and Gaza’s Health Ministry said 88 bodies had arrived at hospitals in the past 24 hours. In previous conflicts, both sides stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strength.

The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second — and much more difficult — phase that will be negotiated during the first.

Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.

Longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.

The conflict has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests. It also highlighted political tensions inside Israel, drawing fierce resistance from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners.

On Thursday, Israel’s hard-line national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to quit the government if Israel approved the ceasefire. He reiterated that Friday, writing on social media platform X: “If the ‘deal’ passes, we will leave the government with a heavy heart.”

Ben-Gvir’s resignation would not bring down the government or derail the ceasefire deal, but the move would destabilize the government at a delicate moment and could eventually lead to its collapse if Ben-Gvir were joined by other key Netanyahu allies.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said on Friday (January 17, 2025) the Palestinian Authority was ready to assume “full responsibility” in post-war Gaza, in his first statement since a ceasefire deal was announced.

“The Palestinian government, under president Abbas’ directives, has completed all preparations to assume full responsibility in Gaza,” including the return of the displaced, providing basic services, crossings management and reconstruction of the war-torn territory, a presidency statement said.

While Hamas has exercised full control in Gaza since 2007, its rival the Palestinian Authority (PA), dominated by the Fatah movement, runs the West Bank.

Hamas, which won the last Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, indicated earlier in the war that it was not seeking to govern post-conflict Gaza.

Hamas sources have told AFP they would be ready to hand over Gaza’s civilian affairs to a Palestinian entity.

Currently, Israel has no definitive stance on post-war governance beyond rejecting any role for both Hamas and the PA.

Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly opposed Hamas or the PA ruling the Palestinian Territory, describing either scenario as “a reward” for the October 7, 2023, attack.

But U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that the PA should be the one to run the coastal territory.

Palestinian leaders across factions have long said that Gaza’s future is for them to decide, rejecting any outside interference.

The Israeli government has convened to vote on the Gaza deal, after the security cabinet approved it earlier on Friday.

Should the deal take effect, truce mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt will monitor the ceasefire via a body based in Cairo, Qatar’s prime minister said.