Former hostage Keith Siegel is using his freedom to draw attention to the hostages still being held in Gaza, he told The New York Times on Wednesday.
“This occupies me, my mind, every day from morning to night and throughout the night when I wake up many times,” he told The NYT.
In the interview, Siegel recounted moments of physical and psychological torment during his time in captivity, including that Hamas terrorists wanted him to assist in the torture of a fellow female hostage.
He explained how he was brought into a room where the woman was tied up and being beaten.
“I was told to go into the room and to tell the person that the torturing will continue until they admit what they were being accused of,” he said.
Siegel explained that nothing he said could stop the abuse. “I was feeling that I’m in a situation where I want to help this woman and to get her out of this horrible, horrendous situation that she’s in, that we’re in, and just felt helpless,” he said.
Siegel said that shortly after that incident, he was forced to make a video message that would be shared by Hamas.
“That was very, very hard for me to think that my family would see that,” Siegel said.
Months spent alone
He told The NYT that in his months in captivity, he was moved over 30 different times. Sometimes he was held with fellow hostages, and other times he spent months alone.
Siegel said that at one point, he was held in a tunnel 100 feet below ground and found it hard to breathe.
“I thought about death many times in that tunnel,” he said.
Siegel continued, telling The NYT how he kept track of the date to maintain his sanity during months of torture, loneliness, and starvation.
After 484 days, Siegel, along with Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon, was released from Hamas captivity in early February.
Advocating for the return of the hostages
Since being returned home, Keith, along with his wife Aviva, who was released as part of the first hostage deal in November 2023 after 53 days, has advocated for the return of the remaining hostages who have been in Gaza for over 550 days.
In late February, Keith and Aviva met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Keith thanked the prime minister for helping to secure his release, but also drew attention to those who remained in Gaza.
“From my perspective, the story is not over. While I have returned, you and I are responsible for bringing them all back. We have friends who are still there, and it is difficult for me to return knowing that they are still there,” Keith told Netanyahu.
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