The remaining hostages in Gaza are undergoing immense suffering and must be saved at once, released captive Kieth Siegel told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday.
In his remarks, Siegel illustrated the kinds of things the hostages have to endure.
“I came here to talk about the suffering and to illustrate as best as I can the pain of the 50 hostages still held there. I was there for 484 days; they’ve been there for 641 days. It’s incredibly hard to describe in words what they’re enduring,” Siegel said.
“I was held alongside Omri Miran. He has a wife and two young daughters. The separation from family is agonizing in itself, not to mention the violence and abuse.
“They threatened to kill me several times [and] held a weapon to my head. I saw hostages who experienced severe violence and threats to their lives. One woman was tortured, sharp rods pressed to her forehead [and] a gun held to her head,” Siegel said.
'Part of me remains in Gaza'
“These images haunt me to this day, and it only gets harder. I may have returned physically, but part of me remains in Gaza, with Omri and Gali and Ziv Berman. They suffer every minute. They were separated in captivity and injured. Their father, Doron, is in critical medical condition,” Siegel continued.
“I was also with Matan Angrest, who was seriously wounded on October 7 and still carries unhealed injuries. We had to beg just to use the bathroom. We endured abuse and violence. Matan was even held in the tunnels, suffering from respiratory distress. To keep him alive so he could be traded, they took him out. Matan fought to protect my kibbutz on October 7, and we must fight to bring him and the others back,” Siegel shared.
“The fallen may be forgotten if we don’t act. Every minute is critical. I call on the prime minister and President Trump to act urgently,” he added.
Siegel’s testimony came at a sensitive moment, as an Israeli team is in Doha attempting to negotiate a new hostage release and ceasefire deal with Hamas, and while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington meeting with top US administration officials.