Aviva Siegel, the spouse of American hostage Kieth Siegel and a former hostage herself, is pleading with everybody and anybody concerned within the hostage negotiations to get her husband, and the others, free of Hamas captivity after they’ve spent greater than 440 days in deplorable situations.
“Hamas launched a video of Keith, and I simply noticed the image,” Aviva advised Fox Information Digital in an emotional interview in reference to a video Hamas launched in April. “He seems horrible. His bones are out, and you’ll see that he’s misplaced lots of weight.
“He doesn’t appear to be himself. And I’m simply so fearful about him, as a result of so [many] days and minutes have handed since that video that we acquired,” she mentioned. “I simply don’t know what sort of Keith that we’re going to get again.”
“I’m fearful about all of the hostages, as a result of the situations that they’re in are the worst situations that any human being may undergo,” Aviva mentioned. “I used to be there. I touched demise. I do know what it feels being beneath the bottom with no oxygen.
“Keith and I had been simply left there. We had been left there to die,” she added.
Aviva and her husband of, on the time 42 years, had been brutally kidnapped from their residence in Kibbutz Kfar Aza by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and held collectively for 51 days earlier than she was launched within the November 2023 hostage change after affected by a abdomen an infection that left her extremely ailing.
She has since tirelessly fought for Kieth’s launch, assembly with high officers within the US and Israel, touring to the US 9 instances within the final yr and turning into a distinguished advocate for the hostages.
“I simply hope that he’s with different folks from Israel, and if he has them, he’s going to be okay,” Aviva mentioned. “He’s simply the person who will make them really feel that they’re collectively. That’s what he did once I was there – he was 100% for me and the hostages that we had been with.”
“When you get kidnapped, get kidnapped with Keith, as a result of he was excellent to all people. He was robust for all of us. And I’m positive that he’s holding robust and holding his hope to come back out,” she mentioned.
Aviva recounted their final moments collectively earlier than they had been separated forward of her launch, telling Fox Information Digital, “After I left him, I advised him to be the strongest – that he must be robust for me, and I’ll be robust for him.”
Prime safety officers from the US, Egypt, and Qatar have been pushing Israel and Hamas to conform to a cease-fire and the return of hostages.
Stories on Thursday steered that negotiators are pushing for a 42-day cease-fire through which 34 of the at the least 50 hostages nonetheless assessed to be alive, might be exchanged.
Hamas can also be believed to proceed to carry at least 38 who had been taken hostage after which killed whereas in captivity, together with at the least seven who’re believed to have been killed on Oct. 7, 2023 after which taken into Gaza.
Although all of the hostages are believed to have been held in deplorable situations, the kids, girls – together with the feminine IDF troopers – the sick and the aged have reportedly been entrance listed to be freed first in change for Hamas terrorists presently imprisoned.
“I’m holding my hope and holding on and simply ready – ready to hug Keith, and ready for all of the households, to get their households again,” Aviva mentioned. “We have to get them again.”
Aviva mentioned she desires of the second that she will get to hug her husband once more and watch their grandchildren “bounce into his arms.”
“We’ll be the happiest folks on Earth,” she mentioned. “All of the hostages, I can’t think about them coming residence. It’ll be simply the happiest second for all the households. We’d like it to occur.”
Stories in current weeks counsel there’s an elevated sense of optimism in bringing residence the hostages, however Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged some warning when talking with MSNBC Morning Joe on Thursday when he mentioned, “We’re inspired as a result of this could occur, and it ought to occur as a result of Hamas is at a degree the place the cavalry it thought may come to the rescue isn’t coming to the rescue, [Hezbollah’s] not coming to the rescue, [Iran’s] not coming to the rescue.”
“Within the absence of that, I believe the stress is on Hamas to lastly get to sure,” he added. “However look, I believe we additionally should be very sensible. We’ve had these Lucy and the soccer moments a number of instances over the past months the place we thought we had been there, and the soccer will get pulled away.
“The true query is: Is Hamas able to making a choice and attending to sure? We’ve been fanning out with each doable associate on this to attempt to get the mandatory stress exerted on Hamas to say sure,” Blinken added.
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