J Street is thrilled to welcome the release of Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon and American-Israeli Keith Siegel under the continuing first phase Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal. The three had been held in captivity by Hamas for 483 days following the horrific October 7 attacks. We are extremely relieved that today’s release went smoothly and without incident.
Our hearts go out to all of the family members of those who remain in captivity – including to Yarden, whose wife and two young children were also taken hostage on October 7. Their fate remains unknown.
We continue to welcome scenes of resilience and recovery across Gaza as aid reaches those who need it most and families return to their communities. We cannot return to the anguish, horror and destruction which have marked the past 16 months.
As we rapidly approach deadlines for the next phase of the deal, one thing is clear: It’s never been more critical to keep this deal moving forward. US strength and leadership – and a refusal to take no for an answer – will be critical to ensuring we enter stage two and see the continued benefits of the deal.
“Standing face-to-face with Netanyahu next week, President Trump will have to make clear that he expects the deal to hold and to offer all support necessary to get to phase two. Netanyahu has at times said he would refuse to allow the ceasefire to become permanent, so Trump must be very clear and very firm,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said. “We can’t afford to go back to scenes of destruction and crush the hopes of hostage families. We have to hammer out a clear post-war plan that gets Hamas out of Gaza for good and prevents a return to war.”
“J Street is encouraged by Special Envoy Witkoff’s trip to Gaza this week – a rare visit from a US envoy and a strong display of the Trump administration’s commitment to the deal.