Mother of Keith Siegel, US citizen in Hamas captivity, passes away

"Dad won't be able to stand with us tomorrow at the cemetery; he won't be able to say goodbye to the woman who raised him and loved him all his life."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF DECEMBER 3, 2024 09:45

Keith Siegel, held in captivity in the Gaza Strip. (photo credit: Courtesy Tal Wax)

The family of Hamas-held US citizen Keith Siegel announced the passing of his mother in a post on Facebook on Tuesday. 

"My grandmother passed away yesterday morning. My father's mother passed away, and my father couldn't say goodbye to her because he had been a hostage by Hamas for over a year. My father was taken from his home by terrorists about twenty years old and is in dark tunnels, severe hunger, and emotional and physical abuse about an hour drive from Tel Aviv," Keith's daughter, Elan, said in the post.

"An hour's drive from the secure bunker in the Kirya [military headquarters,] he's being held in the scariest hole in the world, and they're simply letting him stay there. They're not bringing him home," Siegel continued. "My father couldn't come to say goodbye to his mother, who will never be able to return. My father is a man who has done nothing but good his whole life. Who believes in the good and loves a person. My dad is 65 years old."

"Dad won't be able to stand with us tomorrow at the cemetery; he won't be able to say goodbye to the woman who raised him and loved him all his life. A violent and murderous terrorist organization writes our lives from the Gaza Strip to the Great United States, And the world is silent," Siegel concluded.

Signs of life

Hamas published a video of Keith in April with another hostage, Omri Miran.

Keith was abducted from his home in Kfar Aza together with his partner Aviva, who was released during the ceasefire in November.

Keith is one of six hostages with American citizenship. On Monday, the IDF confirmed that fellow American hostage Omer Neutra was killed on October 7, 2023, and his body was taken by Hamas to Gaza.