‘What can I do to bring the others home?’ Hostages freed from Hamas captivity vow all must return

By MELANIE LIDMAN

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — For the last 2 months of his captivity successful Gaza, American-Israeli Keith Siegel was forced to prevarication down astatine each times successful a cramped room. For astir of his ordeal determination was small energy oregon moving water, which made hygiene impossible, helium said.

When he returned to Israel past week, gaunt and pale, the archetypal words to his family, according to his brother, Lee Siegel, were: “I’m back, I’m home.”

Then, helium asked, “What tin I bash to assistance bring the different hostages home?”

Hostages are returning aft 15 months successful captivity arsenic portion of a ceasefire deal betwixt Israel and Hamas, and with their freedom, the archetypal details of their ordeals are emerging. Hamas has been designated arsenic a violent enactment by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Their accounts, told mostly done relatives, are shining a airy connected what the astir 75 captives who stay successful Gaza are facing, and are driving families of the released captives to support up their nationalist run until everyone is free.

“My household and I traveled the globe, knocking connected each door, sharing our communicative with anyone who would listen,” Siegel’s wife, Aviva, a erstwhile hostage, told reporters aft the merchandise of her husband.

“We indispensable not rest. We indispensable not crook away,” she said, adding that the “hostages remaining successful Gaza merit better.”

After 15 months of devastating warfare sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire woody past month. Hamas terrorists killed astir 1,200 radical and took 251 hostages during the attack; astir 75 stay successful Gaza. About fractional are presumed by Israel to beryllium dead.

More than 47,000 Palestinians person been killed successful Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not separate betwixt civilians and combatants, but says much than fractional the dormant are women and children. The archetypal signifier of the ceasefire calls for a intermission successful fighting, the merchandise of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and an summation successful humanitarian assistance for Gaza. Another 3 hostages are expected to beryllium released connected Saturday.

The families of the hostages and their supporters person waged a tireless campaign successful Israel and overseas to support nationalist attraction connected their loved ones and unafraid their release.

Their committedness to securing the merchandise of each the remaining hostages is made each the much hard due to the fact that hold of the ceasefire is not guaranteed and relies connected renewed negotiations betwixt Israel and Hamas to transportation the woody into a 2nd phase, erstwhile much hostages are expected to beryllium freed.

Siegel, 65, primitively from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken captive on with Aviva from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, 1 of the communities hardest deed successful Hamas’ attack. She was released successful a little ceasefire successful November 2023.

Lee Siegel, 73, said his member told the household helium was moved often and that for astir six months helium was kept alone, abstracted from different hostages. Beyond what his captors told him, helium had precise small vulnerability to the extracurricular world, different than proceeding uncommon snippets of vigor oregon TV reports.

For agelong periods helium was required to enactment silent, helium told his family.

Siegel drew connected his meditation signifier to assistance him enactment grounded, his member said. He would support way of clip by saying the day and the time of the week each day.

Siegel would person imagined conversations with each household member, according to his brother. If his captors allowed him to talk aloud, helium would susurration these; different helium would person the conversations silently successful his head. He would say, “Aviva, I emotion you,” oregon to his daughter, “Gal, I dreamed of you, I saw you.”

Even arsenic helium has started sharing immoderate of his experiences with the family, Lee Siegel said they can’t statesman to comprehend his ordeal. His member is besides grappling with the challenges of catching up connected everything helium missed, the seismic changes successful Israel arsenic good arsenic idiosyncratic household news: the decease of their mother, the commencement of large nieces and nephews.

“It’s a quality being who was taken for 484 days, suffering the worst things we tin appreciate,” Lee Siegel said.

Romi Gonen, 24, who was released on the archetypal time of the ceasefire, volition request a analyzable country and lengthy carnal therapy for an untreated manus coiled she suffered during the Hamas attack, according to her mother, Meirav Leshem Gonen.

While doctors said Gonen’s information was unchangeable erstwhile she returned, her parent said her tegument was grey aft being kept retired of sunlight for astir her full captivity.

Leshem Gonen said her girl mislaid 22 pounds, a 5th of her assemblage weight, and was often deprived of nutrient by her captors, adjacent erstwhile they had nutrient to share. When she was freed, Gonen had mislaid the quality to admit hunger, and didn’t privation to devour astatine all, her parent said, adding that it was much than 2 weeks earlier she yet asked for thing circumstantial to eat.

Gonen has spoken precise small to her household astir what she went through, but to stock humorous stories, trying to inject a spot of levity into a horrific concern due to the fact that that’s the benignant of idiosyncratic she is, her parent said.

“I inquire everybody to instrumentality enactment to marque definite the ceasefire volition proceed for the hostages to get out,” said Leshem Gonen, who has been a salient dependable for the hostages’ state and has continued the run for those inactive successful captivity.

Lee Siegel said his household is taking immoderate clip to themselves earlier returning to the demonstrations, overseas question and media interviews for the remaining hostages’ release.

For now, the household is concentrating connected the tiny things: conscionable being capable to clasp Siegel.

“It volition instrumentality clip for him to regroup physically and emotionally, but he’s strong, and he’s resilient,” Lee Siegel said.

“Actually, I deliberation helium provides america with much spot than we tin supply for him.”

Originally Published: February 6, 2025 astatine 2:10 PM EST