Hamas hostage with family in Sarasota freed Saturday, seen reuniting with family in Israel

The Brief

• A Hamas hostage with family in Sarasota was freed on Saturday.

• 36-year-old Sagui Dekel Chen was released by Hamas early Saturday morning and reunited with his wife and father.

• He’s been held captive since October 2023, almost one year four months without seeing any of his loved ones.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Hamas released three hostages Saturday, including one man with family in Sarasota. They’ve been waiting for word about him since January when news first broke of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

36-year-old Sagui Dekel Chen, a father of 3, is now free. He was released by Hamas early Saturday morning and reunited with his wife and father.

Big picture view

He’s been held captive since October 2023, almost one year four months without seeing any of his loved ones.

“We were so frightened because Hamas refused to say which hostages were dead or alive, and they said who they would release yesterday, but they didn’t say the condition,” Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee CEO Shepard Englander said.

READ: Flagler County plane crash: Pilot presumed dead after plane crashes in wooded area, officials say

We spoke with his step-mom Gillian Kaye last month after a ceasefire was announced between Israel and Hamas.

At the time, they still hadn’t heard any word about when he might be released.

“He’s a strong guy period. You always have to have hope. That he has survived, and he is okay, and he will come back to us,” Kaye said in January.

Sagui was taken from his own while trying to protect his wife and kids. Late Friday, they got word he would be one of the three hostages to be released.

“We didn’t want to celebrate until we saw him actually walking out, and it was overwhelming when we saw him, but even more overwhelming was that he’s never met his youngest daughter who was born after he was taken hostage,” Englander said.

As Shepard Englander of the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee explains, it’s not exactly clear the level of torture that Sagui faced on a daily basis, but said that he is healthy.

“We know that when he came out, he was gaunt, looked malnourished, that he didn’t have full use of his right arm. But thank God he’s alive,” Englander said.

What’s next

Englander says they will not rest until all the hostages are released.

“We’re grateful that the president in his administration has made the release of all the hostages a top priority and has put their full attention and their all of their influence to get all of them home now, which is what should have happened long ago,” Englander said.

CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube

The Source

Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Jordan Bowen.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: