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(A7) Keith Siegel, Yarden Bibas, and Ofer Calderon returned to Israel on Saturday after 484 days in Hamas captivity. On Sunday, Kan 11 reported new details on the harsh conditions in which the three were held.
Keith was held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza City along with additional hostages. He was held in the tunnels but was mostly moved between apartments. According to him, the terrorists hid him in a back room so if someone entered the apartment they would not be able to find him.
As for his diet in captivity, Keith says there was a severe lack of food. He returned starved since the last time the terrorists fed him was Friday afternoon. Although he is a vegetarian, he had to eat the meat provided to him by the terrorists to survive.
For months, Keith did not know what had happened to his son, Shai, who was with him in Kfar Aza on October 7th, 2023. He said that he learned that his son was alive when he heard him on the radio.
Ofer and Yarden were held together during the initial days of their captivity. They related how during the first weeks, the terrorists would hit them, lock them in cages, and torture them – both physically and mentally. During the long days in captivity, the two were moved from one place to another, underground and in buildings, and were held with other hostages.
The terrorists treated Ofer as if he were a reserve soldier and therefore he was released on Saturday dressed in an IDF uniform. Upon his release, he asked the IDF forces for a beer, but since he was weak, they explained that he would have to wait.
Yarden was taken from location to location in Khan Yunis and was held in an apartment and the tunnels. He underwent severe psychological abuse, with the terrorists constantly talking about his wife Shiri, and young children Kfir and Ariel, who are still being held by the terror group. He held on to hope in captivity and learned Arabic. Keith, Ofir, and Yarden shared that they were exposed to the Israeli media and the demonstrations for their release in Israel – things that gave them strength and hope that they would be released.
