For the first time, Hamas released a video over the weekend that appeared to show North Carolina native Keith Siegel alive and talking.
Siegel was kidnapped along with his wife Aviva in the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel. Aviva Siegel, a kindergarten teacher, was released in November, but Keith Siegel remains one of the 133 people held hostage by Hamas.
On Saturday, Hamas released a video of American-Israeli Siegel and Israeli Omri Miran.
“He is worn out and has lost weight, he looks frail. But that was Keith talking to us,” said Siegel’s brother Lee.
In the video, Siegel, apparently speaking under duress, advocates for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate a deal with Hamas to release hostages.
In an interview with CBS Face the Nation over the weekend, Siegel's niece said she was concerned that Netanyahu may not see it in his political interest to reach a deal to bring the hostages home. She also fears that a full-scale attack on Hamas in the city of Rafah, which Netanyahu has promised, could endanger her uncle's life.
Lee Siegel, who lives in Israel, didn't want to get into politics but told Spectrum News that the Israeli government needed to act urgently.
“I'm pleased with the commitment of the United States … I believe that our administration could have shown more urgency, should have shown more urgency and made this agreement happen,” Lee Siegel said. “Hamas is on this side, so we can’t leave them out.”
Members of the Siegel family and other families of American-Israeli civilians held hostage by Hamas met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Israel on Tuesday. The families said the meeting was positive and Blinken expressed cautious optimism about the impending agreement to release the hostages.
For the Siegel family, urgency was already a key driving factor. Lee Siegel hopes the video will make a deal a reality.
His brother turns 65 next week.
“Too many hostages celebrated birthdays, the birth of children and, unfortunately, deaths as hostages. Keith needs to be home for his 65th birthday. You know that's a week. That's a big question. But that’s exactly what we’re asking for,” said Lee Siegel.
