Could Chapel Hill native finally come home? Hamas, Israel deal could release hostages.
A Chapel Hill native held hostage for 467 days so far in the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas may come home by the weekend.
The Associated Press announced at midday Wednesday that a 42-day ceasefire deal was heading to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet and his full Cabinet for approval. The pending deal would be implemented in three phases, beginning with the release of 33 women, children, the sick and older adults held by Hamas.
Israel would release Palestinian women and children in exchange for those hostages, and more hostages could be released in the next phases, which still need to be negotiated, CNN reported.
Two of seven American hostages — Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen — are on a list for release in the first six weeks, a senior Biden administration official and two other sources told CNN.
Siegel, 65, and his wife Adrienne “Aviva” Siegel, were taken on Oct. 7, 2023, from their home in Kfar Aza. They were among 251 hostages taken in the Hamas-led attack. Sixty-four people in their kibbutz, or settlement, were killed, and only about 50 of the 1,000 residents have returned, according to The Times of Israel.
In total, 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7, inciting the latest war between Israel and Hamas, which the United States considers to be a terrorist organization. The fighting has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Aviva Siegel was freed 51 days later, along with 103 other hostages, forcing her to leave behind Keith. He had broken ribs, and has been without daily medication for pre-existing health conditions, the couple’s daugher Elan Siegel said in a Facebook post.
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, reacted to the news that Keith Siegel might be released in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday.
“So happy for his wife Aviva — a released hostage herself — and his loving family. It is good to see the Biden Administration and Trump Transition working together to get this deal done,” Tillis wrote.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein thanked the Biden administration in a post on X later Wednesday “for working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire and bring the hostages home.”
”I join all of North Carolina in rejoicing over reports that NC native Keith Siegel will soon be headed home. He and his wife Aviva have endured unimaginable hardship,” Stein wrote.
Months of protests, lobbying for freedom
Keith Siegel’s family has continued to lead the fight to bring him home, addressing lawmakers in the U.S. and Israel, speaking with Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and demonstrating and posting support for the hostages’ release on social media.
In April, Hamas released a video of Keith Siegel and another hostage, giving the family hope and renewed determination to press for a ceasefire deal. In early January, Hamas circulated a list of hostages, including Siegel, that could be released under a proposed deal.
Israeli officials initially rejected the list, but on Monday, a senior Israeli official told CNN a deal being brokered in the Qatari capital city of Doha could free 33 hostages.
The Washington Post reported in December that 117 hostages have been freed since Oct. 7, and 72 have been killed. Hamas may still be holding 94 people hostage, several of them U.S. citizens, Israeli officials told CNN. At least 34 could be dead.
What happened to Aviva, Keith Siegel?
Aviva Siegel, a native of South Africa who immigrated to Israel as a girl, met and married Keith Siegel, a U.S.-Israeli citizen, at Kibbutz Gezer in central Israel. They made a home for the last 40 years about an hour south in Kfar Aza, near the Gaza border fence.
Aviva worked as a nursery school teacher and Keith as a pharmaceutical sales representative, and together, they raised four children.
The day before they were taken, the Siegels drove their youngest daughter, Shir Siegel, to the beach, she said in a video for the Hostages and Missing Family Forum. An Israeli Army intelligence official called the family a few days later to verify they had found her father’s car, Shir Siegel said. It was “heartbreaking” to tell the couple’s five grandchildren what had happened, she said..
Keith Siegel missed his mother’s North Carolina funeral in December. Gladys Siegel, 97, never learned about her son’s situation because of her age, the family has said. Aviva Siegel told McClatchy in April that her husband was hoping to see his mother again.
About her own time as a hostage, Aviva Siegel has shared “harrowing experiences and severe violence of all kinds — physical, emotional, and sexual,” her daughter Elan Siegel wrote on Facebook in December.
“Israeli intelligence warns that some hostages are being starved and will not survive much longer. We need people with the heart and mind in the right place to help bring them home,” she wrote.
The News & Observer reached out to Keith Siegel’s family for comment about the latest news. A spokeswoman said they are declining interviews until they get more information about his release. Aviva Siegel is planning to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration event in Washington, D.C., on Monday, she added.
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM.
