Siegel, 65, is an American-Israeli from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza along with his wife, Aviva Siegel. Aviva was freed in a prior hostage exchange in Nov. 2023 and has since led an international campaign advocating for the release of Siegel and others still held in Gaza.

Three more Israeli hostages — two females and an 80-year-old man — were released in Gaza Thursday as the third hostages-for-prisoners swap agreed to by Israel and Hamas got underway, but the chaotic nature of the handover of two of the Israelis angered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the extent that he delayed his country's part of the exchange until later in the day.

Hamas released four Israeli hostages in Gaza early Saturday in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners to be released later in the day. It was the second release to occur as part of the ceasefire agreement that began last weekend. Israel followed with the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners.