US-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel released from Hamas captivity after 484 days
Siegel and wife Aviva were abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza; Aviva was released from captivity in Nov. 26, 2023 and Keith on Feb. 1, 2025
On February 1, 2025, Keith Siegel, 65, was released from Hamas captivity in Gaza as part of phase one of a mediated ceasefire-hostage release deal. He was handed over to the Red Cross, who delivered him to IDF soldiers who escorted him into Israel. Below is what we initially knew of his capture:
Keith Siegel, 64, (now 65), was taken captive with his wife, Aviva Siegel, 62, from their home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked their community, killing and abducting Israelis and burning kibbutz homes.
The couple was driven into Gaza in their own car, along with a neighbor and her two children.
Aviva Siegel was released on November 26, 2023, as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.
Within a week, Aviva Siegel was at a massive rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, holding up a placard with Keith’s picture.
“We’re all motivated to get him out, that’s the priority,” said Aviva’s twin sister, Fiona Wax. “We’re heartbroken, worried.”
Their daughter, Shir Siegel, who also lives on Kfar Aza, was away that weekend and tried to call her father that morning, who didn’t answer his phone.
Her call to her mother’s phone was cut off, and they wrote on the family Whatsapp group that they couldn’t speak.
Keith Siegel, originally from North Carolina, is known as a quiet, kind man, dedicated to his wife, children and grandchildren.
