From the Liveblog of
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Ex-hostage Keith Siegel was held alone for last 2 months of captivity, kept track of date for all 484 days
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Recently released hostage Keith Siegel was kept alone for the last two months of his captivity, and would repeat the date, day of the week, and the number of days of his captivity to himself for every one of the 484 days he was a hostage, his siblings tell The Times of Israel.
“His strategy was to stay within himself as much as possible,” says Lee Siegel, Keith’s older brother from Kibbutz Gezer. “He found his strategy to keep anchored, what number day it was, who he was with, and repeat it and repeat it.”
Siegel told his family that on day 205 he heard his daughter Elan being interviewed in Hebrew on an Arabic radio broadcast, which is how he found out that his son Shai was alive and had not been killed on October 7.
Siegel was moved 33 times during his 15-month captivity, and often kept in dark rooms where he was forced to lie down and be quiet.
“He could tell us if there was a dog in a house where he was staying and whether the dog had a name,” says brother David Siegel. “He just had a lot of focus and concentration, and he recited details throughout the day to himself to keep aware of what day [and place] it was.”
While Keith Siegel lost a significant amount of body weight and often had to forgo his vegetarianism during captivity to survive, he’s now decided to adopt a vegan diet, says brother Lee Siegel, and is “chowing down.”
“He’s craving tofu,” says sister Lucy Siegel. “He’s had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
