Keith Siegel is an American-Israeli citizen set to be released on Saturday in the hostage-ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
He is one of two American hostages set to be released in the first phase of the deal.
A total of 33 hostages will return home after 15 months of Hamas captivity. The agreement between the Gaza-based terror group and Israel came only shortly before US President Donald Trump resumed his role in the White House. Trump warned Hamas against further delaying a deal – promising there would be “hell to pay” should the terror group continue holding hostages once he takes power.
Who is Keith Siegel?
Keith, now 65, was abducted from Kfar Aza on October 7 2023, along with his wife Aviva who was released as part of the November deal. The pair were driven to Gaza in Keith’s car along with 19 others from their kibbutz.
Keith’s ribs were reportedly broken on October 7, according to the American Jewish Committee. Concerns for his health were further elevated when Emily Damari, a British-Israeli released in the first week of the deal, called on Hamas to release Keith in her place – citing his health.
A father to four and grandfather to five, Keith’s family have been active in campaigning for his release.
Aviva left Gaza after her captors reassured her that in a day or two her husband would join her, the couple’s niece told the Media Line.
Hamas released a video of Keith in April 2024, where he called for demonstrations demanding a deal in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
After over a year in Hamas captivity, Siegel will return to the news that his mother passed away in December 2024 – unable to see her son return or say goodbye.
“My father couldn’t come to say goodbye to his mother, who will never be able to return. My father is a man who has done nothing but good his whole life, who believes in good and loves people,” Keith’s daughter, Elan, said in the post. “Dad won’t be able to stand with us tomorrow at the cemetery; he won’t be able to say goodbye to the woman who raised him and loved him his whole life. A violent and murderous terrorist organization dictates our lives from the Gaza Strip to the powerful United States, and the world is silent.”
Originally from North Carolina, Keith made aliyah to Israel in 1980 where he began working as an occupational therapist.
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