Latest news with #KfarAza
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
Dad who endured 484 days in Hamas hands reveals horror sight of captors torturing woman with pole will haunt him forever
A GRANDAD tortured and abused by Hamas terrorists while held hostage for 484 days has told of the one thing that will haunt him forever. Keith Siegel and his wife Aviva were brutally kidnapped from kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023. 6 6 6 Between 10 and 15 vicious, armed Hamas terrorists broke into their home, dragging them out of their safe room at gunpoint. Both were injured as the brutes forced the couple to take them to their car, which they used to drive the terrified pair across the border. Keith and Aviva, who have been married for more than 40 years and share four children, were then pushed into an extremely cramped tunnel for three days. Before Aviva's release 51 days later, they were moved 13 times, while Keith was relocated 33 times before he was freed earlier this year. Speaking of her harrowing experience in captivity, Aviva said: "Most of the time, I just wanted to die. "It was too much for me, a human being, going through what I went through and to see what the Hamas terrorists did to Keith and the girls [other hostages]". American- Israeli Keith, 65, spent a shocking 484 days in captivity before he was finally released on February 1. At the Israeli Embassy in London yesterday, brave Keith recounted his agonising experience. "I was held for 484 days, out of which six months I was alone," he said. "I was locked up in a room by myself. I was disconnected totally from any media and I had no idea what was going on a lot of the time. Moment last known living US hostage kidnapped on Oct 7 is reunited with his family after finally being released by Hamas "Terrorists kicked me, spat on me and cursed me for no reason. "I was threatened with death several times. I had guns pointed at me, rifles and pistols. And they threatened to kill me. "I said nothing. I was instructed to lie down on the floor on my back, and that's what I did." But despite his horrifying ordeal at the hands of merciless Hamas terrorists, the dad said it was their treatment of a female hostage that disturbs him the most. Keith added: " I witnessed a woman being tortured. And when I say torture, I say it in a literal sense. "This woman, they had tied her hands together at her wrists. They had tied her feet together at her ankles. "They had covered her face with tape. They had put her down on her back on the floor. "They called me to come into this room where the woman was lying, and there were three terrorists in the room. "Two of them were taking turns beating her with a rod. And the third one was holding a metal rod with a sharp pointed end, which he put on her forehead. 6 6 6 "He was standing behind this woman, holding the rod and applying pressure to her forehead with the sharp end. "It haunts me to this day." Aviva, meanwhile, detailed the heartbreaking toll her time in captivity continues to take on her life - which she says she can't get back on track until the final hostages are freed. The mum said: "One time, the Hamas terrorists took us underneath the ground and I was sure I was going to die. "Keith looked at me and said 'I don't have any air'. We were left there to die. "They didn't care about us. Everything was taken away from us. "There wasn't a minute that I could say to myself okay, relax. I ahd the feeling they were going to kill me all the time or they were going to kill Keith. "I was worried about him all the time. "I was starving all the time. I had to beg for water. Still today, I need water next to me all the time. "I cannot lock myself in a bathroom because I am scared after I was locked in rooms there and taken underground." It comes as 50 hostages dragged into Gaza on October 7 remain trapped. Israel believes at least 27 are dead. What happened on October 7? ON October 7 2023, militants of Hamas and other Palestinian nationalist groups launched co-ordinated armed attacks in the Gaza Envelope of southern Israel. The perpetrators had managed to bypass Israeli defences to para-glide across the border, in what became the first invasion of the territory since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The horror coincided with the Jewish celebration of Simchat Torah, and initiated the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. A barrage of around 4,300 rockets were launched on Israel from the Gaza Strip in the early hours of October 7 before vehicles and powered paragliders crossed the border. The Hamas fighters attacked military bases and massacred civilians in 21 communities, including Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Netiv Haasara, and Alumim. The first civilian attack started at 6.29am at the Nova Music Festival site at Re'im, just three miles from Gaza. More than 360 revellers were cut down as they desperately tried to flee. Across October 7, an estimated 1,139 people were massacred and another 250 civilians and soldiers were taken hostage into Gaza. Aviva and Keith, who are grieving the deaths of 64 people from their kibbutz killed during the atrocity, continue to battle for their freedom - travelling the world to campaign and share their testimonies. "We haven't come back to life because we worry about the hostages that are still there," Aviva said. "We know what they're going through. "We come from a community that are peacemakers and we've always been like that. "We know of so many hostages... treated like they're not human beings. "And we are here as witnesses to tell the world that if we leave the situation to be like that and the hostages there, that means anybody in the world can do whatever they want to. "They can rape. They can burn. They can starve. They can do whatever they want to. "This war needs to stop and the world needs to stand for humanity. "I can't go back to my life. All I do is think about all these hostages that are innocent, that just need to come home." It comes as Donald Trump continues to push for a peace deal between Israel and Hamas - including the release of the hostages. US Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler this week argued a deal to free the final captives is "closer than it's ever been".
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ex-hostage says Trump can bring home all those still captive in Gaza
An American Israeli man who was held captive by Hamas has told the BBC that US President Donald Trump has the power to secure the release of the remaining hostages and end the war in Siegel, 66, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. He was released this February after 484 days in captivity under a ceasefire deal that Trump helped broker just before he took was taken along with his wife, Aviva, who was held for 51 days before being freed during an earlier Siegel was speaking ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump at the White House on Monday evening. In an interview in Tel Aviv, he thanked Trump for securing his own release and said the president could now do the same for the remaining 50 hostages, up to 20 of whom are believed to still be alive."I believe he has a lot of strength, power and ability to put pressure on those that need to be pressured, on both sides in order to get the agreement, get the deal signed, and get all of hostages back and bring it into the war," he has said he hopes a new ceasefire and hostage release deal will be agreed this week, but it appears there are still significant gaps between Israel and two sides resumed indirect talks in Qatar on Sunday evening but they ended after three hours without a breakthrough, according to a Palestinian he flew to Washington DC, Netanyahu said he believed his meeting with Trump could "definitely help advance that result we are all hoping for".It is believed the plan includes the staggered release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli said on Friday that it had delivered a "positive response". But a Palestinian official said it had requested several changes, including a US guarantee that hostilities would not resume if negotiations on an end to the war failed - an idea Netanyahu has previously rejected. Mr Siegel described in vivid detail how Hamas members beat and taunted him, and said he was still haunted by the torture of a female captive he said Hamas operatives had moved him through the streets of Gaza, sometimes in daylight, to 33 different locations during the course of his asked whether he would support a deal which released the hostages but saw Hamas remain in power in Gaza, he replied: "It's of the highest priority and urgency to get all of the 50 hostages back as soon as possible."But he continued: "We cannot let Hamas continue to threaten people and to kill and murder people, and I think Hamas is responsible for death on both sides."Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 57,000 people have been killed there since Israel launched military operations in response to the 7 October attacks, during which about 1,200 people were killed in Israel and 251 others taken hostage.I asked Mr Siegel, as he continues to campaign for the release of the remaining hostages, whether his thoughts also focus on the suffering of the Gazan population."I believe that peace and security for all people and freedom... are basic human rights that every person deserves," he said."I think it's the responsibility of all leadership to ensure that that happens. Any innocent person that is hurt or killed or murdered is something that I hope or I dream will not happen."
The Guardian
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Gaza: ‘Clean it out then bring in something good'
In the third and final episode of Along the Green Line, reporter Matthew Cassel heads to the south of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Amid the deadliest chapter in the history of this conflict, we visit the kibbutz of Kfar Aza to witness the evolving legacy of the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas militants, and get as close to Gaza as is possible for foreign journalists. In this three-part series, we're traveling along the 1949 armistice line or 'green line' – once seen as the best hope for a resolution – and meeting Palestinians and Israelis living just miles apart
CTV News
26-06-2025
- CTV News
The families of hostages held in Gaza hope for their own ceasefire after truce in Israel-Iran war
Liran Berman, brother of twins Ziv and Gali Berman, who were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023, and held in the Gaza Strip, poses for a portrait at home with his family dog, Barbie, in Or Akiva, Israel, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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
