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Former hostage Keith Siegel sent a video to U.S. President Donald Trump, which Trump shared overnight on his social media platform Truth Social. Siegel filmed the video among the ruins of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, from where he was kidnapped on the morning of the October 7 massacre.
"Hello, Mr. President. My name is Keith Siegel, the first American hostage released in the deal that you worked so hard to set in place," he said. "Thank you once again for everything you’ve done to get the hostages out of Gaza."
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Keith Siegel's video
(Video: Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
Siegel, who told his family he suffered physical and psychological abuse in captivity, continued: "I'm standing in front of a home in Kfar Aza, the kibbutz where I live. You can see the enormous destruction Hamas did on the October 7 massacre.
“It's hard to believe and comprehend what I'm seeing today — homes that were destroyed by Hamas, that were burned. People in the kibbutz were murdered, burned alive. Just horrific stories of what happened on that day are horrifying."
He stressed the urgency of securing the release of the remaining hostages amid negotiations on extending the deal’s first phase or advancing to the next phase. "I wanted to say to you again how urgent it is to get all the hostages out of Gaza and back home to their families. You've done so much so far and we all urge you to continue your efforts and use your ability to allow more progress in the hostage exchange deals. Thank you."
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Keith Segal, U.S. President Donald Trump
(Photo: Hostages and Missing Families ForumANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
According to Israeli estimates, 63 hostages remain in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be alive and can still be saved. Some have provided proof of life through videos and testimony from freed hostages.
At a rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square last week, former hostage Aviva Siegel, Keith's wife, said: "I know what it's like to be in Gaza and I know what it's like to worry about someone in Gaza. The suffering there is unbearable."
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She recalled her time in captivity. "I didn’t let myself feel anything for a moment. The pain was so overwhelming that I tried to escape into my thoughts just to avoid feeling. For 500 days, the hostages haven't known what will happen tomorrow — whether they'll live or die, whether they'll be beaten, starved again or if they've simply been forgotten. They must be brought back from this hell now!"
Aviva added that Keith told her he was held alone for six months, sleeping on a mattress on the floor in a tiny room, surviving on moldy pita bread unfit for human consumption.
"One day, a terrorist with him kicked him full force in the ribs, spat on him and called him 'ya kalb' (Arabic for 'you dog') for no reason, just because he felt like it," she said. "On another day, the terrorist pointed a gun at him and said, 'Now I’m going to shoot and kill you.'"