Former Gaza hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel testified before the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) in Geneva on Wednesday, recounting how they were denied their human rights, sexually abused, starved, and physically threatened during their captivity in Gaza.
They appeared before the committee as part of an Israeli delegation led by Justice Ministry Director-General Itamar Donenfeld.
Keith Siegel specified that he was not "looking for mercy" by testifying but that he was here to ensure that the terrorists who tortured him and his wife would never be able to do so again.
In his testimony, Keith Siegel described his and his wife's abduction on October 7. Hamas terrorists dragged them out of their safe room, shooting at them as they forced them into a car, and took them across the border at knifepoint.
He was initially taken with his wife into the tunnels under Gaza, but after his wife was released after 50 days, he was frequently relocated, often to civilian areas. He described being held on the landing of a stairwell in a school for two and a half weeks.
"I was moved 33 times," Siegel added. "I was held in tunnels, in schools, and residential homes with children and with wives of terrorists.
"For 50 days, I was with Aviva until her release," he said. "After that, I was sometimes held with other prisoners, sometimes in complete isolation. Ultimately, I was alone without any other hostages for six months, a 60-year-old man, completely alone, not knowing the fate of my loved ones."
Siegel added, "Our captors compared intimate parts of me to another hostage; they threatened us with knives, leaving us to beg to go to the bathroom. We would wait until we were absolutely about to explode so that we wouldn't anger the terrorists. I was denied the most basic human rights. I was starved, denied water. More than once, terrorists forced me to strip naked in front of them and shaved my body."
"The entire time I was in Gaza, I envisioned returning home, going to visit my aging mother. The first thing I asked my wife in the helicopter on the way to the hospital after my release was about my mother. My mother passed away two months before my release. My mother did not get a chance to know that I was home, and I did not get a chance to say goodbye to her."
Aviva Siegel share a testimony of pain and strenght
Aviva Siegel also gave testimony about their captivity.
"For 51 days," she said, "I was sure that I am going to die all the time. I was threatened, I was starved, I didn't get enough water. I lost 10 kilos in 51 kilos. I used to hide food for Keith. I could see Keith. He was losing weight. The terrorists were putting on weight. They were eating in front of us...chewing all the time."
"One of the days, one of the girls went to the bathroom, and when she came back, she was shaking. She's young...and after a while she told us a Hamas terrorist touched her whole body and did whatever he wanted. She was so scared because he said to her that if she said anything about it, he would kill her."
"I am witness to one of the girls who was with us, that the Hamas terrorist came to the bathroom, told her to get undressed, came into the shower with her, and forced her to do oral sex. And she had to smile after she did that too. I am witness of one of the girls who was forced to take a shower, she is 16 years old, she's never ever showed anybody her body, the Hamas terrorist just stood there and stared and smiled."
"I had diarrhea for most of the time I was there in Gaza because they gave us dirty water to drink...I was scared to go to the bathroom. I am 62 years old, I had to ask for permission to go to the bathroom."
"I was forced to pray to Allah," she said. "And when they forced me to do that, I remember thinking to myself, to which Allah are they praying to? The one who's looking at them, the way they are treating us, and not giving us any human rights?"
'They played soccer with heads of humans'
"People on the 7th [of October] died slowly," she added. "While they were talking to their families, disappearing from life. When I came back, I heard so many stories, and they were videoed by Hamas because they were proud of themselves. They played soccer with heads of humans."
Addressing the committee, Justice Ministry Director-General Itamar Donenfeld discussed the rising wave of antisemitism with "ancient slanders and modern blood libels."
"These lies echo in the streets, across campuses, and even in the United Nations," Donenfeld continued. He urged the committee to listen to the facts presented by the Israeli delegation, to condemn the atrocities of Hamas, and demand the return of the hostages.
"I urge the committee to ensure its statements remain objective, fact-based, and free from any political bias," he stated. "This is vital for the integrity of this committee."