Tal Wax holds a sign with a photo of his uncle Keith Siegel, a hero held hostage in Gaza since October 1. 7 attacks, during a press conference in Madrid, Spain, on January 25.
Manu Fernández/AP
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Manu Fernández/AP
Tal Wax holds a sign with a photograph of his uncle Keith Siegel, a hero held hostage in Gaza since October 1. 7 attacks, during a press conference in Madrid, Spain, on January 25.
Manu Fernández/AP
Hamas has released a video showing images of two captives held in Gaza, as part of an effort to prove that the two men are still alive.
One of the two hostages is an American citizen, Keith Siegel, who is believed to be held in Gaza after he was reportedly kidnapped on October 1. 7 from his home in the community of Kfar Azza, near the Gaza Strip.
It was one of several sites militants entered in eastern Gaza that day, killing more than 1,000 people and taking hundreds hostage.
Video released by the militant group shows Siegel and another hostage, Omri Miran, who was reportedly taken from his own home in another community, a kibbutz called Nahal Oz.
In the video, which, like other hostage videos, was filmed under duress, Siegel says, “I want to tell my family that I love them very much.”
He adds: “We are in danger here. There are explosions. It’s stressful and scary, and this has been happening for a long time…”
In the video, Miran also refers to the explosions and says: “The situation here is not pleasant, it is hard.” Both men urge the Israeli government to “come to an agreement” to release the hostages.
Within hours of the video’s release, Yuval Segev, a co-worker of Siegel’s wife, was participating in one of the frequent demonstrations calling on Israeli authorities to help speed up the release of the hostages.
Segev said Siegel’s wife, Aviva, had last been in contact with her husband via message on the morning of Oct. 1. 7.
“It was not a celebration,” he told NPR in response to Hamas’ release of the video on Saturday. “But it was a very optimistic moment to hear it.”
Siegel’s wife, Aviva, told NPR earlier this month that Hamas had freed her after 51 days in captivity and that she had not heard from Keith since. She last saw him lying on a mattress.
“I hugged him,” she said. morning editionIt’s Leila Fadel. “I told him, please be strong for me and I will be strong for you.”
Earlier this week, Hamas released another video that appears to show a statement from Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli man who was also kidnapped on October 1. 7.
NPR’s Becky Sullivan contributed reporting from Tel Aviv, Israel.