Keith Siegel, who returned from captivity in Gaza, addressed the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday. Siegel said, “I have come here to tell about the difficulty over there and to illustrate, as much as I can, the suffering of the 50 hostages who are still there. I was there for 484 days, they have been there for 641 days. It’s very difficult to put into words the suffering they are undergoing.
“I was held together with Omri Miran. He has a wife and two small daughters; the separation from the family is agonizing in and of itself, and that is without mentioning the violence and the abuse.
“They threatened to kill me several times, they put a gun to my head, and I also saw men and women hostages who experienced very severe violence and threats of death. I witnessed a woman hostage who underwent severe torture, they put a sharp bar to her forehead, and they put a handgun to her head.
“These sights haunt me to this day, and it gets more and more difficult. I have returned in body, but part of me remains in Gaza, with Omri and with Gali and Ziv Berman. They are over there, suffering every minute. They were separated in captivity, they’re injured. Their father Doron is in very severe medical condition.
“I was also with Matan Angrest, who sustained serious injuries on October 7 and carries with him the injuries that haven’t healed to this day. We had to ask and beg to go to the bathroom, we underwent abuse and violence. Matan was also in the tunnels, he suffered there from respiratory distress. In order to keep him alive so that they could bargain for him, they took him out of the tunnel. Matan fought to guard my kibbutz on October 7, and we have to fight to bring him and all the rest back.
“Those who are dead may disappear if we don’t bring them back; every minute is critical. I call upon the Prime Minister and President Trump to do this urgently,” Siegel said.
