October 7 · Personal story
Keith Samuel Siegel
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
His home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel
Current outcome
Released alive · February 1, 2025
Released alive after 484 days in captivity and reunited with his family in Israel.
01
Life before October 7
Keith Samuel Siegel made his home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where he and Aviva built a family life over four decades. The Times of Israel reported that they met in Israel: Keith had come from the United States to volunteer, while Aviva was completing a year of community service before army service. They raised four children and became grandparents to five. Keith’s American and Israeli ties were part of his public identity; after his release, the Associated Press described him as an American-Israeli citizen.
02
Abduction
On October 7, 2023, armed attackers entered the Siegel home in Kfar Aza and abducted Keith and Aviva to Gaza in their own car, according to Aviva’s account reported by The Times of Israel. She said Keith was shoved during the transfer and suffered broken ribs. CNN later introduced the couple as among people taken from their home that morning and described them as being held in underground tunnels. Their abduction tore them from the place where they had raised their family and from neighbors whose fate Keith would not learn until after captivity.
03
Captivity
Keith and Aviva spent their first 50 days in captivity together, moving through homes and tunnels, CNN reported from their later interview. Aviva described a succession of holding places and a tunnel with so little ventilation that the captives struggled to speak. She recalled Keith calling for help when they were told to shout if they needed something, and receiving no answer. In April 2025, Keith told CNN that he had been held in tunnels and homes under horrendous conditions for 484 days. He said sharing his experience mattered because it could help people understand what captives endured.
04
Return
Aviva was released on November 26, 2023, after 51 days, while Keith remained in captivity. The couple’s separation turned her return into a beginning of waiting rather than a reunion. On February 1, 2025, Keith was released after 484 days. AP reported that he was handed to the Red Cross in Gaza City and arrived at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. He is from North Carolina, according to Euronews. At the hospital, Keith reunited with Aviva and their family.
05
After return
In the first days after release, Keith faced a world whose news had reached him only in fragments. AP reported that he asked whether his 97-year-old mother was alive and which Kfar Aza neighbors had been killed. He had heard some news through radio messages but had not known the full story of his family or community. His daughter Elan said the family answered only what he asked, allowing him to set the pace. Aviva had prepared a book of notes from people she met while campaigning for his release, including Israeli and U.S. leaders. In April 2025, Keith joined her in public interviews and spoke about why sharing his experience mattered. Their post-return story includes both reunion and the work of learning what happened while he was away.