From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Ex-hostage Aviva Siegel writes book about her captivity in Gaza
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Former hostage Aviva Siegel announces via social media that her book, “The Main Thing is To Wake Up to a New Morning,” written following her November 2023 release from captivity, will hit bookstores on April 8, first in Hebrew, then in English translation.
Siegel and her husband, Keith Siegel, were taken hostage together from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists. Aviva Siegel was released in the first Israel-Hamas ceasefire in November 2023, and then joined the struggle for her husband’s release, which came during the next ceasefire, in February 2025.
“The book is what happened day after day and what I felt and what I did with my feelings and how everyone helped me and how I helped others,” Siegel tells The Times of Israel. “It’s very deep.”
Siegel, originally from South Africa, says she walked around with notebooks wherever she went, eventually filling five with notes.
Siegel adds that until the February 2025 release of her husband and thoseof other hostages they were close to, her mind “was in Gaza most of the time. October 7 is at the center of my brain.”
The memoir is one of several written by Israelis who were taken hostage in Gaza.
The Times of Israel Community.