Ex-hostage Keith Siegel recounts ‘medieval torture’ in Gaza, asks Trump to ‘apply pressure’

Speaking at a English press conference of freed hostages, released captive Keith Siegel recounts the horrors he experienced in captivity and appeals to US President Donald Trump not to stop until every captive is returned home.

Siegel, a native of the US, says he is “eternally thankful to President Trump for prioritizing the hostage crisis since day one of his presidency, and bringing me and so many others home.”

Siegel was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023, with his wife, Aviva, who was freed in November 2023. He was not released until February 2025.

Siegel says he thinks “constantly” of those still being held hostage, including twins Gali and Ziv Berman, who “have been part of our lives since they were little boys,” IDF soldier Matan Angrest, whom he met in captivity, and Omri Miran, “a man of immense strength and an unbreakable spirit.”

They “have been held in captivity for 18 agonizing months, over 570 days ripped away from their families, their dreams and their lives. Every second of every day, I’m reminded that we cannot truly be free while our people remain in captivity.”

Siegel says that he carries “the heavy burden of knowing what those still in captivity endure every single day. I survived horrors I could never have imagined, starvation, dehydration, relentless humiliation. I witnessed sexual assault, trapped 130 feet underground in suffocating tunnels. I saw acts of medieval torture that still haunt me.”

The released hostage says that Trump is responsible for his freedom, and he appeals to the US president “to continue his commitment. Apply pressure. Restart negotiations immediately and secure a deal now, before it’s too late.”

Freed hostage Doron Steinbrecher, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza and released in January, says that it “was clear that the release of myself and my fellow hostages happened thanks to the election of President Trump, thanks to his immense efforts and the efforts of his team.”

Steinbrecher recounts her time in captivity, “spent underground, trapped in the dark, suffocating tunnels with no daylight, no sense of time, no insurance I would survive another day.”

She says she is grateful for her freedom, “but my heart is heavy, because 59 hostages remain in captivity, 59 families trapped in [an] endless cycle of hope and despair.” She appeals to Trump: “Please don’t stop. Continue to fight for them, just as you fought for me. Continue to be their voice, just as you gave me mine.”