Two of the last three American hostages are among 33 individuals Hamas has agreed to release under a ceasefire deal reached with Israel, which began on Sunday after the captives endured 15 months in captivity.

Israel announced on Sunday that Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel are included on the list of hostages Hamas has pledged to release during the initial stage of the agreement. The deal officially commenced at 11:15 a.m. local time after being delayed for several hours.

The release list also includes the Bibas family, which consists of 2-year-old Kfir, 5-year-old Ariel, and their parents.

“We are waiting for each and every one of you,” was shared on the official Israel X account.

Hamas is believed to be holding 60 hostages alive in Gaza, while the remains of 37 others are reportedly in the group’s possession.

Keith Siegel, 65, and his wife, Aviva, were violently abducted from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault on Israel.

The couple was held together until Aviva was freed as part of a hostage exchange in November 2023.

Keith Siegel, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, appeared in a video released by Hamas in April 2024.

Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, was taken by Hamas from his home in Kibbutz Nir-Oz, where he lived with his wife and two children.

Dekel-Chen’s father, Jonathan, was born in Connecticut, and both father and son hold U.S. citizenship.

Edan Alexander, the only other remaining American hostage, will not be part of the initial phase of the ceasefire.

The Bibas family—parents Shiri, 33, and Yarden, 34, along with their children Ariel and Kfir—were abducted together by Hamas during the October 7 attacks and taken into Gaza.

Video footage of their capture, particularly highlighting the young ages of Ariel and Kfir, has drawn widespread attention to their plight in both Israel and internationally.

Kfir, the youngest of the hostages, was only 9 months old when taken. Having spent most of his life in captivity, he has yet to experience a birthday outside Hamas’s control.

Hamas is also expected to release three female hostages—Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher—on Sunday.

A delay in finalizing the agreement arose due to what Hamas described as a “technical” problem with the names provided.

The timeline for the women’s release remains unclear.

The ceasefire negotiations nearly fell apart on Sunday after Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu accused Hamas of failing to uphold its commitments by not providing the list of hostages scheduled for release before the ceasefire was set to begin.

The disagreement was resolved three hours later, allowing the ceasefire to take effect at 11:15 a.m. local time.

During the delay, Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on Khan Younis in southern Gaza, with Reuters reporting that at least 13 people were killed in the operation.

{Matzav.com Israel}