A Survivor’s Tale: 484 Days of Captivity in Gaza**

After enduring 484 days as a hostage in Gaza, Keith Siegel shares his traumatic experiences and the grim reality faced by him and fellow captives during the conflict.**

Keith Siegel, an Israeli American originally from North Carolina, spent a staggering 484 days held hostage in Gaza, enduring extreme physical and psychological turmoil. Captured alongside roughly 250 others during the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023, Siegel vividly recounts the terrifying conditions of his captivity.

In a recent interview, Siegel described an incident where gunmen dragged a female hostage from their group into a separate room. Following her, he was thrust into a macabre display of violence — a “medieval-style” trial marked by torture. With primitive tools, the guards mercilessly beat the woman while demanding a confession, forcing Siegel into a position of complicity. “I was told to go into the room and to tell the person that the torturing will continue until they admit what they were being accused of,” he recalled, the trauma etched deeply within him.

Siegel's ordeal was marked by insufficient meals and limited access to water, where any disobedience risked violent repercussions. This brutal reality was one of many experiences that shaped the harrowing journey for him and his fellow hostages.

Finally released on February 1, 2025, as part of a brief cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Siegel’s return home was bittersweet; many of his fellow captives remain unaccounted for, with around 35 presumed dead by the Israeli government. As he shares his story, it hopes to shed light on the painful narratives that emerging from the situation, adding a deeply personal lens to the ongoing conflict.