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"Three Israeli prisoners, all men this time, will be released tomorrow, and then we will see 90 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails.”, Schiller said on air."
By ABIGAIL RUBINSTEIN FEBRUARY 3, 2025 08:59 Updated: FEBRUARY 3, 2025 09:02
(L-R) Ofer Kalderon, Yarden Bibas, and Keith Siegel released from Hamas Captivity, February 1, 2025.
(photo credit: Canva, screenshot, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)
The BBC issued an apology after news anchor Nicky Schiller referred to the three Israeli hostages who were released on Saturday as "prisoners."
Schiller told his viewers that three Israeli prisoners were set to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. “Confirmation in the last couple of hours, first from Hamas, that three Israeli prisoners, all men this time, will be released tomorrow, and then we will see 90 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails,” Schiller said on air.
The three people Schiller described were Yarden Bibas, 35, Ofer Kaderon, 54, and Keith Siegel, 65.
The BBC later released an official public apology on the matter.
“Earlier today on BBC News, we reported on the names of those three Israeli hostages who are due to be freed tomorrow,” an anchor later stated. “At one point during the coverage, we mistakenly called the hostages ‘prisoners,' and we would like to apologize," the anchor said.
Upon the release of Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon, the two were seen wearing Hamas-manufactured military-style uniforms, even though both were taken from their homes as civilians.
Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon, and Keith Siegel
Yarden and Ofer were both physically and psychologically tortured, said previous hostages who were released from previous ceasefire agreements. Additionally, while in captivity, Yarden had learned Arabic.
Yarden was welcomed home by loved ones upon his arrival to Israel. However, his wife and two kids are still held as hostages in Gaza. IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari commented on the ‘grave concern’ regarding the status and safety of the rest of the Bibas family, including Yarden’s wife, Shiri Bibas, 33, and his two children, Ariel Bibas, five, and Kfar Bibas, two.
"Yarden is home, but the home is missing," Bibas family members said in a statement following the father's release.
Ofer was welcomed home by his four children, brother, and partner. Two of his children were also held captive alongside their father. However, they returned as a part of the November 2023 weeklong ceasefire agreement.
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It took almost two more hours after Yarden’s and Ofer’s release for Keith Siegel to be returned to Israel. The oldest out of the newest wave of returnees was the last and oldest of the three to be released. Keith was reunited with his wife, Aviva Siegel, and his son, Shai Siegel.
Aviva was kidnapped along with Keith on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Aviva was released during the November 2023 ceasefire agreement. While in captivity Keith believed that his son was dead, however, in captivity he heard his son’s voice over the radio and realized he was alive.
The three hostages were returned home by the Red Cross and received immediate medical treatment upon their arrival to Israel.
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