Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Hamas gunmen escort American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Gaza City on February 1, 2025, as part of the fourth hostage-prisoner exchange. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
US-Israeli hostage Keith Siegal is handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City.
Siegal, wearing a black cap, is paraded on a stage set up in front of the sea in the Gaza City port, where he briefly waves to the crowd.
Siegal, 64, walks unaided but appears thin and pale.
The stage is decorated with images of slain Hamas military leaders and a slogan in Hebrew that says “Zionism will not win.”
Dozens of armed and masked Hamas gunmen form a cordon around the stage.
The handover is also brief and orderly compared to the scenes of chaos in the release of Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Mozes on Thursday when they were forced to march through a seething mob.
The IDF says the Red Cross has notified the military that hostage Keith Siegel was handed over to it. The Red Cross is now bringing him to IDF and Shin Bet forces inside Gaza to then be escorted out of the Strip, the military adds.
Siegel, a dual Israeli-US citizen originally from North Carolina, was taken captive with his wife Aviva from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Aviva was freed during a previous ceasefire in November 2023.
Hamas fighters deploy at the stage where the handover of American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, to the Red Cross will take place in Gaza City, Saturday Feb.1, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar)
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From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 1, 2025
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