American-Israeli hostage rarely saw sunlight, daughter says

JERUSALEM — American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, who was released from captivity Saturday, spent long periods of time alone, rarely saw sunlight and was given very little food, causing him to lose a drastic amount of weight, his daughter said Monday night from the hospital in Tel Aviv where her father is recuperating.

Shir Siegel added that her father insisted Monday on knowing what happened to Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack.

“We had to go over a cruel and long list of 64 people, dear to us and loved, and he could not understand that so many of his friends were murdered,” Siegel said.

Aviva Siegel, Keith Siegel’s wife, who was also kidnapped and released in the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023, thanked President Donald Trump for help negotiating the ceasefire and pleaded with him to ensure the next stage of the ceasefire will take place.

“The hardest part is ahead of us, and I trust you to see this deal through, because it’s the road to healing for all of us,” she said, in a message to both the Israeli and American governments.

The six-week first phase of the truce calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners, as well as the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the territory.

Israel and Hamas are beginning to negotiate a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for releasing the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.

Israel’s opposition leader said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government will not fall over the continuation of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that brings about the return of more hostages.

Yair Lapid spoke Monday, the day before Netanyahu was to meet with Trump at the White House to discuss the truce.

Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have vowed to quit the government if he does not resume the war after the first phase ends in early March. Their departure would significantly raise the chances of early elections in which Netanyahu could be voted out.

Lapid, speaking from an Israeli community near the border that was devastated in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack said “Netanyahu has a political safety net from the opposition for the deal, for every stage.”

“The deal has the overwhelming support of the people of Israel, and the deal has the overwhelming support of the Knesset of Israel,” he added, referring to Israel’s parliament.

A senior Russian diplomat met a visiting Hamas envoy Monday to discuss the ceasefire deal in Gaza.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for the Middle East and Africa, held talks with Hamas’ Musa Abu-Marzouq.

The ministry said they discussed the progress of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza “with an emphasis on the importance of increasing the volume of humanitarian aid to the affected Palestinian population.”

The ministry’s statement noted that the Russian side once again “particularly emphasized the need to fulfill the promises made by the Hamas leadership” regarding the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had located and destroyed several weapons storage facilities in southern Lebanon on Monday, where troops are continuing to operate as a fragile ceasefire enters its third month.

Israel said soldiers had found mortar shells, missiles, rockets, explosives, firearms and a large amount of military equipment belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The military said it also killed a number of Hezbollah terrorists located close to Israeli troops.

The ceasefire deal for Lebanon gave both sides 60 days to remove their forces from southern Lebanon and for the Lebanese army to move in and secure the area. Israel says Hezbollah and the Lebanese army haven’t met their obligations, while Lebanon accuses the Israeli army of hindering the Lebanese military from taking over.

The 60-day deadline expired at the end of January. Israel said the agreement is progressing but, in some sectors, “it has been delayed and will take slightly longer.”