B"H
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Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Israeli woman freed from Hamas captivity recalls brutal conditions inside
tunnels
Aviva Siegel was released late last year, but her husband remains a
hostage.
Sept. 24, 2024, 6:00 PM GMT-3
By Daniel Arkin
Aviva Siegel, an
Israeli woman who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 and held for more than 50
days until she was freed during a temporary cease-fire, told NBC News she is
determined to keep “shouting and screaming for the hostages to come home” —
including her husband, Keith, who is believed to be alive.
“I have been
talking about those tunnels,” Siegel told NBC News’ Lester Holt on Tuesday
during a trip to New York amid the start of the United Nations General Assembly,
referring to the tunnels where she was held captive before her release in
November.
“Keith and I nearly died in the tunnel because there was no oxygen,
and I’ve been talking about it over and over and over — hard stories. But I want
to just tell everybody we’re not going to stop,” she said in an interview
alongside other people whose loved ones were taken in Hamas’ terrorist attack in
Israel.
Siegel, 63, recalled some of the conditions inside the vast network
of tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip. She described hostages thrown to the
ground on “filthy, dirty mattresses,” forbidden from speaking or moving,
confined to dark spaces. She recounted the physical agony of being starved for
“24 hours or even more.”
“I was there in those same conditions,” Siegel
added, “and I thought that I’m going to die all the time.”
The group that
spoke to NBC News on Tuesday also included Jonathan Dekel Chen, the father of
Sagui Dekel-Chen; Orna Neutra, the mother of Omer Neutra; Yael Alexander, the
mother of Edan Alexander; Mika Alexander, Edan’s sister; Andrea Weinstein,
sister of Judy Weinstein and sister-in-law of Gadi Haggai; and Ruby and Hagit
Chen, the parents of Itay Chen.
Officials confirmed late last year that Judy
Weinstein and Haggai had most likely been killed on Oct. 7 and that their bodies
are now being held in Gaza. Israeli military officials told Ruby and Hagit Chen
in early March that Itay was believed to have been killed on Oct. 7.
Itay’s
parents are still holding out hope that he might be alive. “We are not mourning
yet,” Hagit Chen said. “We have no physical evidence that Itay’s not alive.”
Orna Neutra said she feels the hostage families are “fighting this war for
attention” against a chaotic backdrop that includes Israel’s devastating
military campaign in Gaza, the deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians and the
worsening conflict between the Israeli military and the Iran-backed militant
group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“The events in the Middle East have been shifting
constantly, and we’re here today again … to bring this issue [and] make sure
that it is kept front and center,” Orna Neutra said. She added that she is
pleading for “de-escalation,” an immediate hostage release and greater
protections for “innocents” in the conflict, including the citizens of Gaza.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen said, “The only way to stop this, we hope, is by arriving
now at a negotiated settlement between Israel and Hamas.”
Jewish people
around the world are preparing to observe Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, in
early October — the first since Oct. 7. Aviva Siegel said she cannot fathom the
idea of celebrating what is normally a festive holiday this year.
“We are
going to just cry,” she said, breaking down in tears. “I cannot do Rosh Hashanah
without Keith.”
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