After 484 days in Hamas captivity, former hostage Keith Siegel finds purpose in his new mission
WASHINGTON -- Finally liberated from captivity, Keith Siegel is anything but free.
The former hostage who was freed by Hamas after 484 days in captivity remains tormented by the ongoing war.
"I cannot heal, I cannot get back to a normal life until all of the 59 hostages are released," Siegel told ABC New York station WABC reporter Josh Einiger.
Gaunt and pale, the 65-year-old North Carolina native was handed over by Hamas after almost 500 days in captivity and finally reunited with his family.
That included his wife Aviva, who was also held hostage for more than a month before her release in a previous deal.
I cannot heal, I cannot get back to a normal life until all of the 59 hostages are released.Keith Siegel
On Oct. 7, 2023, they were home in the tiny southern Israeli community of Kfar Aza when Hamas terrorists massacred dozens of their neighbors and dragged 19 of them over the border into Gaza.
That's where Siegel would suffer for nearly a year and a half.
"I want to emphasize the horrendous conditions that I was held in and the hostages are being held in," he said. "In tunnels 130 feet underground, barely being able to breathe, gasping for my breath, for our breath. Deprived of food, water, and sanitation."
Siegel said he was exposed to violence during his captivity.
"I was kicked by terrorists, I was spat on by terrorists, cursed, just out of the blue with nothing that I had done that might provoke that," he said. "I did my best to be good to them and then hoping they would in return be good to me."
Siegel acknowledged his life was based around their moods and trying not to anger them.
"The terrorists had many different kinds of weapons, RPGs, and they were like just there within hands' reach," Siegel said. "And the terrorists would play with them, pick them up, point them at me, and say 'I'm gonna kill you now.' It was very scary to be in the situation where they decide when they want to give me food, water, when they will let me go to the toilet, and just feeling like if ever they decide that they want to kill me, this is a very likely possibility."
Now he sees his own face -- from a happier time -- amid a sea of posters depicting other hostages, including many who didn't make it.
I want to emphasize the horrendous conditions that I was held in and the hostages are being held in.Keith Siegel
Siegel's release came amid a flurry of progress when President Donald Trump took office in January. A tenuous truce led to the release of 33 living hostages. But eventually it would stall when Israel and Hamas accused each other of breaking the ceasefire.
The war resumed with 59 hostages still stuck in Gaza.
Rather than recuperate, Siegel has found his voice. He has been back and forth to Washington twice in a month to lobby Congress and the Trump administration -- anyone who will listen -- to tug the parties back to the table.
And he goes nowhere without a picture of his fellow hostage, Matan Angrest, and his neighbors, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, just three of the 59 people still trapped in the tunnels -- somewhere in Gaza.
"I urge President Trump to continue his efforts to reach an agreement that will bring the remaining 59 hostages back," Sigel said. "There are still 59 held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, 24 are alive and they are in a life-threatening situation, it's urgent to get them back."
Of the remaining hostages, five are Americans, but just one -- 20-year-old Edan Alexander of Tenafly, New Jersey -- is still alive.
Oct. 7, 2023 was 558 days ago.
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