{"id":16710,"date":"2025-05-28T11:39:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T11:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/28\/it-haunts-me-daily-freed-israeli-hostages-fear-for-those-still-held-captive-by-hamas\/"},"modified":"2025-05-28T11:39:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T11:39:45","slug":"it-haunts-me-daily-freed-israeli-hostages-fear-for-those-still-held-captive-by-hamas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/28\/it-haunts-me-daily-freed-israeli-hostages-fear-for-those-still-held-captive-by-hamas\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It haunts me daily:\u2019 Freed Israeli hostages fear for those still held captive by Hamas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keith Siegel has been free for nearly four months, but he is still pained by vivid images of his 484 days as a Hamas hostage and of those still held in Gaza\u2019s tunnels. <\/p>\n

Siegel isn\u2019t just talking about the physical and psychological abuse he was subjected to by his captors or the suffocating conditions and malnutrition he faced in tunnels deep underground. He\u2019s also terrified that Israel\u2019s intensifying bombardment and ground offensive will kill the remaining living hostages \u2013 or drive Hamas to execute them. <\/p>\n

Hamas and other militant groups kidnapped 251 people from Israel during the October 7, 2023 terror attacks. <\/p>\n

As Israel marks 600 days since the war began, Siegel and dozens of former hostages and relatives are renewing their call for a deal that will end the conflict and secure the release of all 58 still held captive, living and dead. Protesters blocked roads in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and gathered in Hostage Square and in front of the US embassy to put pressure on the Israeli government to make a deal with Hamas and return the remaining hostages. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Omer Shem Tov is welcomed during his arrival at Logan Airport in Boston, on May 15.<\/span> <\/div>
Charles Krupa\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For Omer Shem Tov, among the last of the hostages to be released before the ceasefire collapsed in March, there is an ever-present feeling of guilt. Every time he eats, he thinks about the hostages not eating. Every time he showers, he knows those still captive in Gaza cannot. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can feel it here,\u201d he says, pointing at his throat. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m being choked.\u201d <\/p>\n

Like many other released hostages, Siegel\u202fand Shem Tov\u202fhave dedicated much of\u202ftheir\u202fnewfound freedom to advocating for the release of those left behind. <\/p>\n

Most of the Israeli public wants to see a ceasefire deal to bring the remaining hostages home, according to numerous polls, but as those who survived captivity, the freed hostages are the movement\u2019s most powerful voices. They see their advocacy as a near-sacred obligation to those still in Gaza. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe hostages\u2019 lives are now more critical than eliminating Hamas,\u201d said Shem Tov. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Siegel has raised awareness about the horrific conditions of captivity he endured and the dangers the remaining hostages face. <\/p>\n

Speaking from his daughter\u2019s home in northern Israel, Siegel looked healthier than when he was released in February. He has regained some of the weight he lost in captivity, color has returned to his face and he has been spending time with his family and out in nature. But his mind is never far from the tunnels of Gaza and thoughts of Matan Angrest, a 22-year-old Israeli soldier, and Omri Miran, a 48-year-old father-of-two, with whom he was held. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think about them every day. Many times a day. And I worry about them \u2013 and I miss them,\u201d Siegel said. <\/p>\n

Siegel and Miran were held together for nearly five months, until July 2024, passing the time by talking about their shared taste in music and their love for their families. Miran has two daughters \u2013 Alma and Ronni, now aged 2 and 4 \u2013\u202f whose names easily rolled off Siegel\u2019s tongue. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very difficult for Omri to think about his daughters growing up without their dad and how hard it was for him to think about him missing their growing-up, their development milestones,\u201d Siegel said. <\/p>\n

Miran called out directly to Siegel in a hostage video released by Hamas last month. Siegel said his fellow former captive looked like \u201ca different person\u2026 in a negative way.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Aviva Siegel and Keith Siegel attend a protest calling for the end of the war and the release of the remaining hostages at Hostages’ Square in Tel Aviv, on March 18.<\/span> <\/div>
Gil Cohen-Magen\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Siegel hesitates to describe his relationship with Angrest as one of a father and his son, but it\u2019s clear they built a special bond during the 67 days they were locked in a very small room, sharing a single bed. Angrest helped Siegel improve his Arabic, talked about his love of the Maccabi Haifa soccer team and day-dreamt about sharing a meal together at his parents\u2019 home and seeing a match once they\u2019re free. <\/p>\n

Siegel said he, Angrest and Miran used to pray that the Israeli military would rescue them in a daring operation. But that all changed in August when Hamas executed six hostages as Israeli troops closed in on their location. Siegel learned about it in captivity and his dreams quickly turned into nightmares. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was afraid that the IDF might try to rescue me and that I might be killed by the captors,\u201d Siegel recalled. \u201cIt\u2019s something that worries me in regards to the hostages that are still there.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added that he believes Israel\u2019s expanding military operations now increase the threats to the hostages\u2019 lives, even as the Israeli military has pledged to take precautions to avoid harming the remaining captives. <\/p>\n

\u201cHostages were killed from the war,\u201d Siegel said. \u201cI think this can be avoided by getting all of the hostages back. That\u2019s the solution, to get them back \u2013 to reach an agreement that will bring them back.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n
People watch as smoke billows into the sky, following an Israeli strike in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 25.<\/span> <\/div>
Bashar Taleb\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Shem Tov echoed his fears. The scariest moments in captivity, he said, were when Israeli bombs fell around him, weapons he knew were powerful enough where \u201cyour life can be taken in every moment.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI was scared of dying from my own people, from my own brothers,\u201d said Shem Tov. <\/p>\n

Siegel and Shem Tov have met with US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called on both to prioritize reaching a deal to free the hostages. While the Israeli prime minister has made clear he believes defeating Hamas is more important than freeing the hostages, many hostage advocates are placing their hopes in Trump\u2019s hands. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am home because of his efforts,\u201d Siegel said. \u201cI believe that he wants to do this and it\u2019s important to him. He has told us that. I ask him to do whatever he can and to do it as soon as possible to get an agreement secured and to get them all back.\u201d <\/p>\n

Shem Tov also believed he was freed because of Trump\u2019s efforts. During their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in March, Shem Tov said Trump told him \u201cthat I have a good future ahead of me.\u201d <\/p>\n

Shem Tov lost most than 50 pounds in captivity, he said. His food dwindled from just two pitas and some cheese daily at the beginning to a single biscuit. <\/p>\n

However, he said his treatment at the hands of Hamas improved after Trump\u2019s election, including receiving more food. <\/p>\n

Hamas also \u201cstopped cursing me, stopped spitting on me,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

He frequently talked politics with his captors and said they wanted Kamala Harris to win the US election. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as Donald Trump was elected, they understood that he wants to bring the hostages back home,\u201d Shem Tov said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keith Siegel has been free for nearly four months, but he is still pained by vivid images of his 484 days as a Hamas hostage and of those still held in Gaza\u2019s tunnels. Siegel isn\u2019t just talking about the physical and psychological abuse he was subjected to by his captors or the suffocating conditions and <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16711,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16710","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}