Freed American Hostage Reveals Hamas’s Torture, Sexual Abuse of Female Captives

Keith Siegel — an American hostage held by Hamas for more than 16 months, speaking publicly in detail for the first time — described shocking abuse in captivity, saying he lived in constant fear and personally witnessed female hostages being tortured and sexually assaulted by Hamas terrorists.

In an emotional interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, the 65-year-old, originally from North Carolina — who was kidnapped by Hamas during its brutal October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and held in Gaza for 484 days — described the abuse, starvation, and psychological torment he endured in captivity.

On October 7, Siegel and his wife, Aviva, were taken from their home and dragged into Gaza in their own car, where they were held underground in Hamas-dug tunnels. 

“We were gasping for our breath,” he recalled. 

Aviva was released during a temporary ceasefire in late November 2023, but Keith remained in captivity for nearly three more months.

In the harrowing televised account, Siegel — known as a gentle, devoted man, deeply committed to his wife, children, and grandchildren — recounted the inhumane treatment he endured as well as what he was forced to witness.

“I witnessed a young woman who was being tortured by the terrorist,” he told CBS. “I mean literal torture — not just in a figurative sense.”

He said he saw female hostages being sexually assaulted, an allegation that echoes growing evidence of systematic abuse carried out by Hamas during its attacks on and captivity of civilians.

He also noted his treatment worsened sharply after the first ceasefire and hostage deal ended in November 2023.

“The terrorists became very mean and very cruel and violent. Much more so,” Siegel said. “They were beating me and starving me.” 

He described being taunted while captors ate in front of him and refused to share food. Furthermore, basic hygiene was nonexistent, with hostages allowed to “shower” once a month with only a cold bucket of water and a small cup. 

Siegel, who was seen weeping during the interview, also revealed his captors shaved his head and genitals, saying it seemed to “amuse” them. “I felt humiliated,” he stated.

As time wore on, Siegel’s psychological condition deteriorated. 

“I felt that I was completely dependent on the terrorists,” he said. “That my life relied on them — whether they were going to give me food, bring me water, protect me from the mobs that would lynch me.”

In what he suspects was a tactic to further torment him, he was sometimes left completely alone in a tunnel.

“I was very, very scared,” he recalled. “Maybe that was a way for them to torture me in a psychological way — make me think, ‘Should I escape?’… But I’m pretty sure they knew I wouldn’t dare.”

Even after being released in February, Siegel remains haunted over the hostages left behind. At least 24 are believed to still be alive in Gaza — including Americans.

The interview marks one of the most detailed firsthand accounts yet of the brutal and degrading conditions in which Hamas holds its captives. It reinforces long-standing concerns about the terrorist group’s tactics — not only on the battlefield, but in its treatment of civilians.

The Iran-backed Hamas group, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States government, has long targeted Israeli civilians and is responsible for the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. 

Last month, Siegel released a video thanking President Donald Trump and urging him to bring other hostages home.

“President Trump, you are the reason I am home alive,” he said, in a video released by the Hostages and Families Forum organization. “You are the reason I was reunited with my beloved wife, four children, and five grandchildren.”

Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein