Latest news with #KeithSiegel
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Yahoo
Freed Israeli hostage recounts 484-day nightmare in Gaza
More than four months since his release from Gaza, former hostage Keith Siegel bears the mental scars of 484 days of captivity in destroyed buildings and tunnels in the hands of Palestinian militant group Hamas. The 66-year-old Israeli-American and his wife Aviva were among 251 hostages seized from residential communities along the Gaza border, army bases and a music festival on October 7, 2023. In a recent interview with AFP, Siegel told of physical and sexual abuse that he had experienced and witnessed in captivity, and of the extreme stress of not knowing if he would ever see his family again. In one incident, he recalled how his captor, out of the blue, pulled out a gun and said: "I'm going to kill you now." "Then he said, 'now you're dead' and laughed," added Siegel, wearing a t-shirt with the words "Bring them home now", a call to free the remaining 52 hostages still in Gaza after more than 20 months. One of the locations where Siegel was held was so far underground that he was "gasping for breath", he recalled. "It was the most horrendous, or one of the most horrendous, situations that I was in." He was first held with his wife, then with other hostages, as well as spending many months alone. In total, he was moved throughout the Gaza Strip around 33 times, hidden inside tunnels or in bombed-out buildings and private homes. During the darkest moments, Siegel said he used mindfulness techniques to stay strong, having long, imaginary conversations with family and friends. - Nationality checks - Throughout his ordeal, Siegel said he had focused on staying alive so he could see his wife, their four children and grandchildren. "There were peaks of anxiety, fear and just the torture of not knowing, the uncertainty of not knowing," he said. "I promised myself that I must return and was not able to think that I would not return. I think that gave me a lot of strength psychologically to get through the days." Recounting some of the lowest points of his lengthy captivity, Siegel said one of his biggest fears initially was Hamas finding out that he was a US citizen, concerned that it could mean separating from his wife. "At the very beginning, on October 7, they asked us all our names, our ages, where we're from, and if we have another nationality, citizenship... I said that I did not," he said. "I was worried that they might release me (without Aviva), because I'm an American citizen." She was released 51 days after the 2023 attack -- more than a year before he was, both under short-lived truce deals. Siegel said he experienced taunts about his wife and daughter, and his genitalia, as well as extreme physical abuse that in two instances left him with broken ribs. - 'Medieval-style torture' - But it was witnessing the mistreatment of other hostages that made Siegel pause for breath during the interview and tear up. "I witnessed a woman being tortured, literally," he said, describing it as "medieval-style torture". "She was on her back, her hands were bound together, and also her feet, and they had put... tape, or a piece of material around her mouth so she couldn't talk," Siegel said. "There was a man standing behind her with a metal rod that had a sharp point at the end of it and it was on this woman's forehead, and he was applying pressure." Siegel did not name the woman, but his description matches an account given by released hostage Amit Soussana, in media interviews in which the 41-year-old lawyer said her captors had tried to make her confess to being an Israeli soldier. For Siegel, having to watch the torture and being powerless to stop it still gives him "terrible thoughts". "I just felt paralysed," he said. - 'Bring the hostages home' - Free now, Siegel remains fascinated with the departure "presents" handed over by his captors the day he left. Inside a paper bag with a Hamas logo, there was a gold embossed "release certificate" signed by a commander from the group's military wing, two key rings with Palestinian flags, and a leather bracelet bearing the same flag. Since returning home, he has become especially active in campaigning for the release of the remaining hostages. Clutching posters of other captives he had spent extended periods of time with -- Matan Angrest, Omri Miran, and twins Gali and Ziv Berman –- Siegel called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump "to bring an end to the suffering, bring an end to the war and bring the hostages home". reg/acc/adp/ami/tc
News.com.au
22-06-2025
- News.com.au
Freed Israeli hostage recounts 484-day nightmare in Gaza
More than four months since his release from Gaza, former hostage Keith Siegel bears the mental scars of 484 days of captivity in destroyed buildings and tunnels in the hands of Palestinian militant group Hamas. The 66-year-old Israeli-American and his wife Aviva were among 251 hostages seized from residential communities along the Gaza border, army bases and a music festival on October 7, 2023. In a recent interview with AFP, Siegel told of physical and sexual abuse that he had experienced and witnessed in captivity, and of the extreme stress of not knowing if he would ever see his family again. In one incident, he recalled how his captor, out of the blue, pulled out a gun and said: "I'm going to kill you now." "Then he said, 'now you're dead' and laughed," added Siegel, wearing a t-shirt with the words "Bring them home now", a call to free the remaining 52 hostages still in Gaza after more than 20 months. One of the locations where Siegel was held was so far underground that he was "gasping for breath", he recalled. "It was the most horrendous, or one of the most horrendous, situations that I was in." He was first held with his wife, then with other hostages, as well as spending many months alone. In total, he was moved throughout the Gaza Strip around 33 times, hidden inside tunnels or in bombed-out buildings and private homes. During the darkest moments, Siegel said he used mindfulness techniques to stay strong, having long, imaginary conversations with family and friends. - Nationality checks - Throughout his ordeal, Siegel said he had focused on staying alive so he could see his wife, their four children and grandchildren. "There were peaks of anxiety, fear and just the torture of not knowing, the uncertainty of not knowing," he said. "I promised myself that I must return and was not able to think that I would not return. I think that gave me a lot of strength psychologically to get through the days." Recounting some of the lowest points of his lengthy captivity, Siegel said one of his biggest fears initially was Hamas finding out that he was a US citizen, concerned that it could mean separating from his wife. "At the very beginning, on October 7, they asked us all our names, our ages, where we're from, and if we have another nationality, citizenship... I said that I did not," he said. "I was worried that they might release me (without Aviva), because I'm an American citizen." She was released 51 days after the 2023 attack -- more than a year before he was, both under short-lived truce deals. Siegel said he experienced taunts about his wife and daughter, and his genitalia, as well as extreme physical abuse that in two instances left him with broken ribs. - 'Medieval-style torture' - But it was witnessing the mistreatment of other hostages that made Siegel pause for breath during the interview and tear up. "I witnessed a woman being tortured, literally," he said, describing it as "medieval-style torture". "She was on her back, her hands were bound together, and also her feet, and they had put... tape, or a piece of material around her mouth so she couldn't talk," Siegel said. "There was a man standing behind her with a metal rod that had a sharp point at the end of it and it was on this woman's forehead, and he was applying pressure." Siegel did not name the woman, but his description matches an account given by released hostage Amit Soussana, in media interviews in which the 41-year-old lawyer said her captors had tried to make her confess to being an Israeli soldier. For Siegel, having to watch the torture and being powerless to stop it still gives him "terrible thoughts". "I just felt paralysed," he said. - 'Bring the hostages home' - Free now, Siegel remains fascinated with the departure "presents" handed over by his captors the day he left. Inside a paper bag with a Hamas logo, there was a gold embossed "release certificate" signed by a commander from the group's military wing, two key rings with Palestinian flags, and a leather bracelet bearing the same flag. Since returning home, he has become especially active in campaigning for the release of the remaining hostages. Clutching posters of other captives he had spent extended periods of time with -- Matan Angrest, Omri Miran, and twins Gali and Ziv Berman –- Siegel called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump "to bring an end to the suffering, bring an end to the war and bring the hostages home".
CNN
05-06-2025
- Health
- CNN
Former Israeli hostage describes seeing torture in Hamas captivity
Former Israeli hostage describes seeing torture in Hamas captivity Keith Siegel, an Israeli-American citizen, was abducted by Hamas from his home in kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023 and released earlier this year as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. In an interview with CNN's Jeremy Diamond, Siegel describes his captivity and his fears for the remaining hostages. 01:41 - Source: CNN Record rain floods Mexico City, traps people Mexico City was hit with record rainfall that didn't relent for more than five hours Monday night, marking the heaviest rain since 2017, according to water management officials. CNN's Valeria León walks a flooded avenue of the nation's capital after emergency crews worked through the night to rescue several trapped drivers. 00:43 - Source: CNN Gaza aid distribution turns deadly for third consecutive day For a third consecutive day, Palestinians came under fire while trying to receive aid from a distribution site in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Nasser hospital, at least 27 people were killed and dozens injured on June 3. 00:56 - Source: CNN Analysis: Why Ukraine's drone attack on Russia just changed the world CNN's Jim Sciutto explains why Ukraine's large-scale drone attack on Russian air bases thousands of miles behind the front lines struck fear into the heart of every global superpower 01:05 - Source: CNN Tomatoes fly at Colombia's largest food fight Around 20,000 revellers gathered in Sutamarchán, Colombia, to throw over 45 tonnes of tomatoes at each other. The Gran Tomatina festival, now in its 15th year, is hosted to celebrate the economy of Sutamarchán, which is centred around tomato production. Mayor Miguel Andrés Rodríguez said "between 70 and 80 percent of families [in Sutamarchán] live off tomatoes. This is a tribute to them." The festival uses tomatoes which are overripe, or otherwise not suitable for consumption. 00:30 - Source: CNN Palestinians shot dead near Gaza aid hub The Palestinian health ministry, hospital officials and multiple eyewitnesses say deadly gunfire killed dozens of Palestinians near an aid distribution site in Gaza on Sunday, with Israel's military denying that its troops fired 'within or near' the aid site. CNN Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond brings you up to speed on what we know about the weekend chaos. 02:31 - Source: CNN Palestinians describe deadly shooting near aid center in Gaza CNN spoke to multiple witnesses who recounted the deadly chaos that unfolded near a US-backed aid center in southern Gaza after more than 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The health ministry blamed the Israeli military for the deaths while other witnesses claimed that local security personnel had also opened fire. Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the aid center, said there had been no gunfire at the site and Israel Defense Forces denied firing on civilians at or close to the site, calling such accusations 'false reports.' 00:55 - Source: CNN Palestinian UN envoy breaks down talking about Gaza's children The Palestinian ambassador to the UN made an emotional address, saying more than 1,300 children have been killed in Gaza since Israel ended the ceasefire in March. 01:19 - Source: CNN Political candidate wears body armor daily CNN's David Culver met César Gutiérrez Priego as he was readying to campaign for office in Mexico City. Gutiérrez Priego, who is running for a seat on the Supreme Court in Mexico, shows Culver the safety precautions he takes with political violence in Mexico at an all-time high. See Culver's full reporting on CNN. 00:53 - Source: CNN Harvard students and faculty speak out against Trump Harvard students and faculty spoke to CNN ahead of commencement as Donald Trump said the university should cap foreign enrollment. The Trump administration has recently sought to cancel $100 million in contracts with the school. 02:03 - Source: CNN Palestinians desperate for food rush US-backed aid site Scores of people rushed over fencing and through barricades in southern Gaza on the first day a US-Israeli-backed aid site was opened. CNN's Jeremy Diamond explains the desperate humanitarian situation that remains in the region. 01:22 - Source: CNN Journalists spit on at Jerusalem Day flag march Ultra-nationalist Israeli Jews chanted anti-Arab slogans as they marched through Jerusalem's Old City to mark Jerusalem Day. CNN's Oren Liebermann describes heavy police presence on the ground. Members of the crowd were seen spitting on journalists, including a CNN producer. 01:50 - Source: CNN Finland's president responds to Russian military activity along border CNN's Erin Burnett speaks with Finland's President Alexander Stubb about his country ramping up its military to deter potential Russian aggression. 02:16 - Source: CNN King Charles stresses Canada's 'self determination' amid pressure from US King Charles III delivered the ceremonial Speech from the Throne in the Canadian Senate. The address marks only the second time in Canadian history that the reigning sovereign has opened parliament, and the third time that the British monarch has delivered the address. 00:42 - Source: CNN Huge ship refloated after nearly crashing into house A larger container ship has been refloated after nearly crashing into a house in Norway. According to local police, the navigator had fallen asleep at the helm. 00:42 - Source: CNN Vehicle plows into crowd in Liverpool Police in the United Kingdom say a man has been arrested after a car plowed into Liverpool fans celebrating during the soccer club's Premier League trophy parade. 01:14 - Source: CNN Iran's Foreign Ministry on progress of Iran-US talks Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei gave an exclusive interview to CNN's Fred Pleitgen on the progress of continuing nuclear talks with the US. Baqaei told CNN that any attempt by the Trump administration to 'deprive' Iranians of their right to nuclear energy would be 'very problematic'. But he also said that there were many ways to come to a compromise. Iran and the United States concluded a fifth round of talks in Rome on Friday. 01:16 - Source: CNN Video of President Macron's wife 'pushing' him goes viral A video of French President Macron's wife pushing him as they disembarked a flight has caught the attention of Russian trolls after going viral. While Macron himself tried to downplay the video saying it merely showed a couple 'bickering,' it's not the first time Russian troll accounts and state media outlets have tried to use videos of the French president to spread disinformation. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne has more. 01:35 - Source: CNN
Irish Examiner
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Families of hostages protest Netanyahu and demand end to conflict after 600 days
Marking the 600th day of the Israel-Gaza war, thousands of family members of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza have held protests across the country, blocking traffic and calling for a deal securing the release of their loved ones from captivity and an end to the conflict. '600 days we are without our loved ones, 600 days that Hamas is holding them captive, and the bloody Israeli government is abandoning them to maintain the integrity of their coalition,' the families said in a statement read by Keith Siegel, a former hostage, at a rally in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. 'Our families have become the victims of cheap politics at the hands of the prime minister,' they said. 'Instead of ending the war and bringing everyone home, he chose [finance minister Bezalel] Smotrich and [national security minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir, who prefer to occupy the Gaza Strip than to save the hostages.' The families of the hostages accused the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of 'sentencing them to death' and called for his resignation. ''After such a long time, the government needs to be sent home to bring the hostages back home,' they said. Anat Angrest, whose son Matan Angrest was kidnapped by Hamas, said: 'I want to turn here to every mother and father: imagine standing next to me, giving everything for the state and the homeland, but being abandoned and forgotten. It can unfortunately happen to every one of us.' In a speech given at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Arbel Yehoud, a freed hostage, said: ''The Israeli government stands before a single choice: saving lives or abandoning them.' The October Council – made up of 1,500 families of Israelis who were killed or captured in the October 7 massacre – protested on Wednesday morning outside the residence of the Knesset speaker, Amir Ohana, in Tel Aviv. The protesters demanded earlier elections and the establishment of a state commission of inquiry. The October Council submitted a bill proposal to Ohana, calling for a dissolution of the current Knesset. The proposal states that 'the government has turned its back on the families' and accused the cabinet of 'outright announcing that it will not investigate the greatest disaster the State of Israel has ever known'. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum sent a letter to the head of the Israeli hostage negotiating team, Ron Dermer, demanding his resignation and saying that since his appointment to the position not a single hostage had returned due to his efforts. A total of 251 people were taken hostage and about 1,200 killed by Hamas in its cross-border attacks on 7 October 2023. Since then, Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians. - The Guardian Read More Israeli government hits back as international pressure over Gaza mounts
CNN
28-05-2025
- General
- CNN
‘It haunts me daily:' Freed Israeli hostages fear for those still held captive by Hamas
Keith Siegel has been free for nearly four months, but he is still pained by vivid images of his 484 days as a Hamas hostage and of those still held in Gaza's tunnels. 'It haunts me daily,' Siegel, a dual US-Israeli citizen, told CNN. 'Everything that they're experiencing is very difficult for me to think about. I can't get those thoughts out of my mind.' Siegel isn't just talking about the physical and psychological abuse he was subjected to by his captors or the suffocating conditions and malnutrition he faced in tunnels deep underground. He's also terrified that Israel's intensifying bombardment and ground offensive will kill the remaining living hostages – or drive Hamas to execute them. Hamas and other militant groups kidnapped 251 people from Israel during the October 7, 2023 terror attacks. As Israel marks 600 days since the war began, Siegel and dozens of former hostages and relatives are renewing their call for a deal that will end the conflict and secure the release of all 58 still held captive, living and dead. Protesters blocked roads in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and gathered in Hostage Square and in front of the US embassy to put pressure on the Israeli government to make a deal with Hamas and return the remaining hostages. For Omer Shem Tov, among the last of the hostages to be released before the ceasefire collapsed in March, there is an ever-present feeling of guilt. Every time he eats, he thinks about the hostages not eating. Every time he showers, he knows those still captive in Gaza cannot. 'I can feel it here,' he says, pointing at his throat. 'I feel like I'm being choked.' Like many other released hostages, Siegel and Shem Tov have dedicated much of their newfound freedom to advocating for the release of those left behind. Shem Tov, 22, considers the hostages his brothers and sisters, after everything they have endured. 'I will fight for my family,' he told CNN. 'They're going through hell. And time is critical.' Most of the Israeli public wants to see a ceasefire deal to bring the remaining hostages home, according to numerous polls, but as those who survived captivity, the freed hostages are the movement's most powerful voices. They see their advocacy as a near-sacred obligation to those still in Gaza. 'The hostages' lives are now more critical than eliminating Hamas,' said Shem Tov. Meanwhile, Siegel has raised awareness about the horrific conditions of captivity he endured and the dangers the remaining hostages face. Speaking from his daughter's home in northern Israel, Siegel looked healthier than when he was released in February. He has regained some of the weight he lost in captivity, color has returned to his face and he has been spending time with his family and out in nature. But his mind is never far from the tunnels of Gaza and thoughts of Matan Angrest, a 22-year-old Israeli soldier, and Omri Miran, a 48-year-old father-of-two, with whom he was held. 'I think about them every day. Many times a day. And I worry about them – and I miss them,' Siegel said. Siegel and Miran were held together for nearly five months, until July 2024, passing the time by talking about their shared taste in music and their love for their families. Miran has two daughters – Alma and Ronni, now aged 2 and 4 – whose names easily rolled off Siegel's tongue. 'It was very difficult for Omri to think about his daughters growing up without their dad and how hard it was for him to think about him missing their growing-up, their development milestones,' Siegel said. Miran called out directly to Siegel in a hostage video released by Hamas last month. Siegel said his fellow former captive looked like 'a different person… in a negative way.' Siegel hesitates to describe his relationship with Angrest as one of a father and his son, but it's clear they built a special bond during the 67 days they were locked in a very small room, sharing a single bed. Angrest helped Siegel improve his Arabic, talked about his love of the Maccabi Haifa soccer team and day-dreamt about sharing a meal together at his parents' home and seeing a match once they're free. Siegel said he, Angrest and Miran used to pray that the Israeli military would rescue them in a daring operation. But that all changed in August when Hamas executed six hostages as Israeli troops closed in on their location. Siegel learned about it in captivity and his dreams quickly turned into nightmares. 'I was afraid that the IDF might try to rescue me and that I might be killed by the captors,' Siegel recalled. 'It's something that worries me in regards to the hostages that are still there.' He added that he believes Israel's expanding military operations now increase the threats to the hostages' lives, even as the Israeli military has pledged to take precautions to avoid harming the remaining captives. 'Hostages were killed from the war,' Siegel said. 'I think this can be avoided by getting all of the hostages back. That's the solution, to get them back – to reach an agreement that will bring them back.' Shem Tov echoed his fears. The scariest moments in captivity, he said, were when Israeli bombs fell around him, weapons he knew were powerful enough where 'your life can be taken in every moment.' 'I was scared of dying from my own people, from my own brothers,' said Shem Tov. Siegel and Shem Tov have met with US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called on both to prioritize reaching a deal to free the hostages. While the Israeli prime minister has made clear he believes defeating Hamas is more important than freeing the hostages, many hostage advocates are placing their hopes in Trump's hands. 'I am home because of his efforts,' Siegel said. 'I believe that he wants to do this and it's important to him. He has told us that. I ask him to do whatever he can and to do it as soon as possible to get an agreement secured and to get them all back.' Shem Tov also believed he was freed because of Trump's efforts. During their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in March, Shem Tov said Trump told him 'that I have a good future ahead of me.' Shem Tov lost most than 50 pounds in captivity, he said. His food dwindled from just two pitas and some cheese daily at the beginning to a single biscuit. However, he said his treatment at the hands of Hamas improved after Trump's election, including receiving more food. Hamas also 'stopped cursing me, stopped spitting on me,' he said. He frequently talked politics with his captors and said they wanted Kamala Harris to win the US election. 'As soon as Donald Trump was elected, they understood that he wants to bring the hostages back home,' Shem Tov said.
