Three Years After Attack, Hostage Trauma Still Shapes Lives

Three years after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, former hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel say the effects of captivity and the loss of their home continue to shape their lives. Their accounts come as Israeli communities mark the anniversary and debate how to remember those killed, rebuild damaged areas and examine the failures that preceded the attack. Keith Siegel spent 484 days in captivity in Gaza. He said he repeatedly memorized where he was held, when he was moved and what he experienced, partly to preserve information that could help other hostages if he returned. Though now free, he said the memories remain vivid and leave him feeling as if part of him is still in Gaza. Aviva Siegel said preparing for the anniversary had been painful. In interviews ahead of October 7, she described everyday reminders of their captivity and said she had recently felt an urge to cry. She said the previous anniversary had come while she was still focused on campaigning for the release of other hostages, leaving less room to confront her own trauma. The couple, who were abducted from Kfar Aza, have decided not to return there and are concentrating on recovery.