When Hamas released Keith Siegel Video from last monthan American-Israeli hostage held in Gaza, showed signs of life for the first time in months. His wife, Aviva Siegel, could not bear to see this.
“For me, it was just too hard to see the sadness in Keith’s eyes,” Ms. Siegel said in an interview during a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York last week.
Ms. Siegel, 63, was held with her husband until the end of November, when she was one of 105 Hostages released They were taken from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7 as part of a ceasefire agreement during a Hamas-led assault on Israel.
The war has been going on for nearly eight months, and the families of the hostages are increasingly worried. Siegel, 65, suffers from a medical condition, and Israeli soldiers have recently Finding the remains Several hostages were taken in the Gaza Strip. For months, Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been trying to bring Israel and Hamas together. Accept the transaction Another ceasefire and prisoner exchange.
Ms. Siegel understood the hostages’ experiences better than anyone else. “Knowing what they went through,” she said, “was too much for me to handle.”
She said that she and her husband of more than 40 years had been relocated more than a dozen times and were locked up in apartments and tunnels, which made them feel extremely depressed.
Ms. Siegel said they were denied food and water while their captors ate, and she herself lost more than 20 pounds.
She said her captors beat her, pushed her, blindfolded her and pulled her hair. They shaved Mr. Siegel’s body hair to humiliate him. The hostages were not allowed to speak.
Ms. Siegel said the kidnappers would play psychological games with them, telling them that Israel no longer existed.
Ms. Siegel expressed sympathy for the people of Gaza and expressed hope that Israelis and Palestinians could eventually coexist peacefully. She said she was shocked by the lack of global attention to the hostage situation.
“Something very bad has happened and we need the world’s help,” she said.
Ms. Siegel, who often recalls her last conversation with Keith, said she initially refused to leave him when she was released from Gaza but soon realized she had to go.
“I let Keith be strong for me, and I said, ‘I’ll be strong for you’ — that’s what kept me alive,” she said.
