Fifty-one days in Gaza

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains graphic details that may not be suitable for all readers. Siegel’s answers have also been edited for length and clarity. This interview also was featured in a two-part podcast story on The World and Everything in It. You can listen to Part I and Part II here.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists coordinated surprise attacks on settlements in western Israel near the Gaza Strip’s border. Those attacks left nearly 1,200 people dead. In addition to conducting a massacre, the militants kidnapped more than 240 people.

Those hostages included Keith and Aviva Siegel, a couple in their 60s who lived on an Israeli kibbutz, or farm settlement, just four miles from Gaza. For 51 days after being taken across the border, Keith and Aviva were beaten, starved, and tortured. They also witnessed sexual abuse. On Nov. 26, 2023, the terrorists released Aviva as part of a ceasefire deal that ultimately resulted in the release of 80 hostages. Keith was not released and remains trapped in Gaza. Since regaining her freedom, Aviva has fervently advocated for the release of her husband and the others still held hostage. She spoke with WORLD in late November 2024 about her ordeal and her hopes for the future.

Tell us how you met your husband Keith?
I was born in South Africa, and I was brought to Israel with my mom when I was nine years old. We lived in a little town, and I came with my family, my sisters.

Keith and I met while I was on Kibbutz Gezer. I went there to work on the kibbutz for a year, and Keith came as a volunteer from Chapel Hill, N.C., to visit his brother. We used to pick cotton, work in the dining room, and work with the cows. Keith is a lovely, lovely, lovely, sweet, gentle person. I fell in love with him in two seconds. And we really—really—had a great time and fell in love and decided to get married. I was 20 years old when I got married, and Keith was 22. We’ve been married for more than 43 years.

Where were you living when the Oct. 7 attacks took place?
We'd been living on Kibbutz Kfar Aza for more than 40 years. A kibbutz is a very, very special place, like a small community. All you can hear and see is green and trees and flowers and birds and lots of dogs and cats—and lots of lovely people who want to be together. We have holidays, like when the year starts, when everybody gets together and eats together. Everybody knows everybody, and everybody’s excited when a new baby comes into the big, huge family. I think it's one of the best places on Earth where children can grow up.

Tell us about the Oct. 7 attacks. When did you first know something was wrong?
Keith and I are used to the missiles and the rockets coming to Kfar Aza. We just thought that this was just another time when we were going to have to run to our little shelter. We ran in our pajamas.

After two rockets, I looked out the window. I could see Gaza—because we’re very close to Gaza—and I could see all the rockets going all over the country and I knew that something really, really bad was happening. It felt like it was the end of the world. And my house, because it's so close, shook.

We asked our family, “What’s happening at Kfar Aza? What’s happening in Israel?” Because we knew there were rockets all over. But none of them answered. They were too scared to tell us the truth.

How were you and your husband kidnapped?
We didn't know that we were going to be kidnapped. We didn't even think about it. I was shaking. Keith was trying to calm me down. Then we heard them shooting the house, walking inside, and then 15 terrorists just opening the door of the shelter—just like any door opens—and shoved themselves in. They started shooting at us. Keith put his head on his knees and his hands on his head. I stood up and screamed, and I know today that that's what saved our lives.

They took us in such a brutal way. They tore Keith’s shirt. Then they pushed us and Keith fell, and they broke his ribs. And they were shooting at us. One of the bullets hit Keith’s hand.

How were you taken to Gaza?
They took us in Keith’s car. The terrorists held a knife in front of my face, and a gun in front of Keith and I. In maybe a couple of minutes—because we were so close—we arrived in Gaza.

All of Gaza was standing outside, clapping their hands, shooting in the air, shouting in Arabic. They were “welcoming” us, while we were shaking and didn’t understand what was happening. And they received us, knowing that we were coming.

I’ll never forget the terrorists looking at me from underneath the ground and calling me and saying, “Come!”—while I’m shaking, while the ladder is shaking with me. I went before Keith to look after Keith, and he looked after me when he was walking behind me.

Did you encounter others from your kibbutz who were taken hostage?
After a short while, five people came in from Kfar Aza. One was a family. The mother said that they shot her husband and they shot her daughter in front of their eyes—in front of her kids. One was 9, one was 11, and one was 17. They had just seen their father dead in front of their eyes—and then their sister was shot in her face, just because she fainted! We were in complete and utter shock.

You were held hostage for 51 days. There have been reports of torture. Did you witness this?
The worst thing for me was when they tortured Keith and when they tortured the girls. They tortured Keith all the time, I don't know, because he's a man, maybe. And it was so hard for me to see that and try not to be too emotional, because I wasn't allowed to cry. I had to hide myself crying—like put my hand on my head and cry so that nobody would see—because if they saw me, they would have screamed at me. We had to say that everything was okay all the time.

When I was tortured, I had to pretend that everything was okay. We had to smile two seconds after we'd been tortured. And so many times we were just starved and didn't get anything to eat while the terrorists just ate in front of us. They were chewing all the time, while we were starving. I lost 10 kilos [about 22 pounds] in 51 days.

They took one of the girls because they thought she was lying. And they beat her up into pieces. When she came back, she sat on the floor—because we were on mattresses on the floor. She sat like a little child, crying and shaking. And I couldn't get up to help her, because I wasn’t allowed to hug. And that was a very difficult moment for me because I’m a mother. I felt like their mothers and I wanted to protect them. But I could not.

Did you see evidence of sexual abuse?
I’m a witness to one of the girls who was touched. And that was a terrible, terrible moment, because I got the feeling that it could happen to me, and it could happen to Keith. It could happen all the time, because they just did whatever they wanted to, whenever they wanted to.

You were moved from place-to-place in Gaza 13 times. Did you witness any of the fighting between Israel and Hamas?
In all the buildings where we were above ground—the missiles that were sent to Israel came out of those buildings. We used to just lie down and see the ceiling shake and the walls getting more cracks, and we had the feeling that the building was just going to fall on us.

We did not see any soldiers, but we did feel lots of bombs. We didn't know what it meant or where they were from—if it’s from us or if it’s from them, or if it’s their missiles nearly falling on us. We couldn't know. We were inside rooms that were very, very dark. We could not see the moon or the sun or the light. So we didn't know, and we weren't told.

What were you told?
We were told lies—that Israel did not exist anymore. I didn't know what to think. I thought that we were forgotten about: that nobody would find us, that we were going to just live there until we died. And like I said before, there were so many moments that I had just enough and I just wanted them to kill me.

Tell me about the day that you discovered you were being released.
Somebody we knew already—the driver who used to drive us every once in a while in Gaza—came and told me that I’m going to Israel. And I said, “I’m not going anywhere without Keith. I’m going with Keith, or I’m staying with Keith.” And I tried to argue with him, but it didn't help. He said to me, “Keith will come tomorrow or the day after.” And I didn’t believe him.

When was the last time you saw Keith?
I found Keith lying on a filthy, dirty mattress in the room next door. I bent down to Keith, and I said to him, “You be strong for me, and I'll be strong for you.” And Keith didn’t say a word. He was in shock. And that’s how we separated. It was very difficult for me. I was taken, and I was alone and scared. I couldn’t know what’s going to happen, or where they were taking me, or if they were going to kill me, if they were going to rape me. I just didn't know.

How did you leave the next day?
They took us to a big place with lots of terrorists who were walking around. And I was placed in a car with two hostages, 15-year-old Dafna [Elyakim], and 8-year-old Elias [Elyakim]. Dafna said to me that she’ll never, ever forget her sister screaming when they connected her finger, because it was disconnected. They took her to a vet and didn't put any anesthetic on her finger.

While we were sitting in the van, they brought an older lady and set her in the back. I asked them to bring her and sit her next to me, and they did, luckily. When I took her face to pick her head up, I felt that she was freezing cold, so I asked them for a blanket and I covered her. I started massaging her whole body and shouting in her ears that she needed to stay alive—that her family was waiting for her, and her grandchildren were waiting for her. I gave her a couple of sips of water, and she drank.

When we arrived in Israel, I asked about her. Her name is Elma [Avraham]. She’s 84 years old. When I saw her, her feet were purple and red, and she was like ice. I could see bruises on her back. She was in a hospital for half a year afterward. She came home [to Israel] with a body temperature of 28 degrees [about 82 degrees Fahrenheit], and said all she ate in Gaza is two dates a day. She’s 84 years old, and that’s how she was treated, if you can believe it.

Since you’ve returned, you’ve made it your mission to bring the hostages—including your husband—home. You spoke with President Joe Biden last December. What was that conversation like?
I mostly felt Biden’s heart. He was upset. He was sad. He was sad for me that Keith was still there. And I do know that he’s trying to do everything he can to get all the hostages out. I told him that I wanted to thank him for everything that I felt that he was doing. Even though Keith isn’t here.

Do you plan to speak to President-elect Donald Trump?
I’d love to meet Trump, because I want to tell him that we need his help. And I’m begging. I’m just gonna beg. I’m gonna beg, and beg, and beg until they bring Keith home.

You’ve seen the criticism of the Israeli military for civilian casualties in Gaza. What’s your response to that?
Keith and I have always been peacemakers. We want good for the whole world. I want good for the good people in Gaza. I do not want to even think about mothers in Gaza having babies in tents, or older people living in tents for a year and two months. Somebody needs to scream for those people to go back to their houses, too. So for me, it’s heartbreaking, because I think that we’ve been born into this world for good things, not for bad things.

I know this is hard, but what would you say to Keith if you could talk to him right now? Well, that’s always a very difficult question, because I get a bit emotional. I would tell him that I’m doing everything I can—that his kids are just amazing and his family is amazing. Everybody's doing what they can to bring him back. We are so worried about him, and we miss him, and we want him with us. And we just can't wait—can’t wait—to give him a hug and to put him into a clean bed after a shower with a good meal, with a good cup of water. I can’t wait, I'm telling you. I can’t wait to see his grandchildren run and jump on him.

Keith is 65 years old. He’s still in Gaza with the same clothes, with not having a shower for months. I know exactly what it’s like—how it feels—and it’s the worst thing that any human being should go through.