Former US President Joe Biden on Saturday welcomed the release of US citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen from captivity, together with Sasha Troufanov and Yair Horn.
“Jill and I are relieved, alongside millions of others around the world, that Sagui Dekel-Chen is finally reunited with his family after 498 painful days,” Biden wrote in a post on X.
“I am proud that the deal we negotiated has held, paving the way for the release of hostages. My thoughts and prayers are with the remaining hostages and their families who have all been through hell. We hope all will be reunited in the weeks ahead,” he added.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris also welcomed the release of Dekel-Chen.
“Welcome home, Sagui Dekel-Chen. Doug and I are grateful to see our fellow American citizen finally reunited with his loved ones after being held hostage in Gaza for 498 days. Sagui and his family have shown extraordinary strength through a horrific ordeal,” she wrote, adding, “As Sagui’s father, Jonathan, was fighting for Sagui’s release, I told him — as I told all of the hostage families — you are not alone. As they celebrate today and begin the path of recovery, they are also not alone.”
Harris further wrote, “We continue to stand with Sagui and his family, all the recently-released hostages, and all those still held captive in Gaza. All the hostages remaining in Gaza, including Americans, must be brought home.”
The ceasefire and hostage release deal currently being implemented by Israel and Hamas was first laid out by Biden last May.
However, the agreement was only signed after President Donald Trump, before he took office, intervened together with his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, pushing both sides to agree to the deal.
In early December 2024, Trump became personally involved in the issue of the hostages held in Gaza when he threatened that there would be "all hell to pay" if the hostages are not freed by the time of his inauguration on January 20, repeating that threat multiple times.