Former Israeli hostages speak to CBS News
London — The day Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel was freed after nearly 16 months of captivity at the hands of Hamas terrorists in Gaza, he tells CBS News that he denied one final demand by his captors.
"I did wave. I didn't say thank you," he said in an interview at the Israeli Embassy in London on Thursday, during an event to mark 650 days since the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when Siegel and 250 others were taken hostage. Siegel, who was released Feb. 1, said his captors told him he should offer them his thanks during the handover, but he declined in a final act of defiance.
His wife Aviva Siegel, sitting by his side during the interview, had words of praise for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She was also taken captive, but was released after about two months, along with other women and children, under a temporary ceasefire and hostage-for-prisoner exchange deal.
"Bibi Netanyahu is not a terrorist," she said, using a common nickname for the Israeli leader. "He's a good man with a heart and wants good for his country."
Freed former hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel and Agam Berger are seen in Israel.
60 Minutes
The Siegels have become two of Israel's most prominent former hostages, using their freedom to remind the world often of the 50 people still believed to be held captive in Gaza. Netanyahu said earlier this month that 20 of those hostages are still thought to be alive.
The Siegels lived in the progressive-leaning kibbutz Kfar Aza, less than two miles from the Gaza border in southern Israel. Many residents in the area have a history of supporting the peace movement and coexistence with Palestinians.
Keith Siegel has been adamant during indirect Israel-Hamas negotiations, which the U.S. is helping to broker along with Qatar and Egypt, that a new deal "must be signed."
"I am alive because of President Trump's efforts that secured an agreement, and also the cooperation and the efforts of my government and the mediating countries," he told CBS News. "We are home. We are alive because of agreements that were signed, and another agreement must be signed to get all of the 50 back home as soon as possible."
Hamas captivity survivor Keith Siegel speaks during a news conference next to his wife, Aviva Siegal (to his left), U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (far left), and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (right) in the Celebrate Israel Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City, May 18, 2025.
ALEXI ROSENFELN/Getty
Among the ideas being debated is a controversial proposal floated by Israel's far-right defense minister to move all of Gaza's roughly 2 million residents into a compact, "humanitarian city" along the Palestinian territory's southern border with Egypt, from which they would not be permitted to leave.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, a fierce critic of the Netanyahu government, has drawn parallels to the Nazi horrors perpetrated against Jewish people during WWII, slamming the idea of what he said would be "a concentration camp" for Palestinians.
The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Friday that more than 58,000 people had been killed in the war. The steadily rising death toll — which cannot be independently verified as Israel does not permit foreign journalists into Gaza — has led to accusations of a genocide being carried out.
Aviva Siegel, asked if she believed the term was fair to use in relation to Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip, said "Hamas is responsible" for everything happening in Gaza, adding: "They need to release the hostages and let the people free."
She told CBS News she often sends text messages to President Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and that she believes he is doing his best to get the remaining hostages home.
The Seigels said their next planned overseas trip is to the U.S., to meet with Witkoff and hopefully, Aviva said, with Mr. Trump. She said she loved former President Joe Biden and also wanted to thank him for helping to secure her release during his administration, but added that she believes Mr. Trump may be able to wield even greater influence over matters in the Middle East.
Ramy Inocencio is a CBS News foreign correspondent based in London, covering Europe and the Middle East. He joined the Network in 2019 as CBS News' Asia correspondent, based in Beijing and reporting across the Asia-Pacific, bringing two decades of experience working and traveling between Asia and the United States.
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