Hamas publishes letter it claims was written by freed hostage thanking his captors

The Hamas terror group publishes a letter that it claims was written by released hostage Keith Siegel ahead of his return to Israel, in which he purportedly thanks his captors for treating him well.

Siegel, a 65-year-old American-Israeli citizen, was released yesterday from captivity along with Yarden Bibas and Ofer Calderon.

The letter, which Siegel’s family says he wrote under duress, asserts that his captors provided him with “food and drink, medicine, vitamins, eye drops, a blood pressure device and more.”

It further claims that he received food that matched his “nutritional needs” and “eating habits,” despite Siegel reportedly telling his family that food was scarce and he was forced to eat meat in order to survive, despite being a vegetarian.

In a statement following the publication of the letter, Siegel’s family says that “Hamas terrorists forced Keith to write them a detailed thank you letter while holding him captive.”

“This is just one example of many that demonstrates Hamas’s cruel and cynical behavior, and highlights the urgency of bringing all remaining hostages back home,” the family adds.

The Walla news site notes that the letter was likely dictated to Siegel in Arabic by his captors, as some of the words, including “vegetarian,” are written in Arabic rather than in Hebrew.