Niece of American held hostage in Gaza updates efforts to bring him home

Amna Nawaz:

More than 100 hostages are still being held captive by Hamas, among them, eight Americans, including the bodies of three Americans confirmed dead and five believed to still be alive.

Israeli-American Keith Siegel was kidnapped from his home in Southern Israel during the Hamas attack on October 7. I spoke with his niece, Hanna Siegel, earlier today about the status of hostage negotiations and her family's relentless work to bring her uncle home.

Hanna, welcome to the "NewsHour." Thank you for being here.

Hanna Siegel, Niece of Hamas Hostage: Thank you so much for having me.

Amna Nawaz:

So your uncle, Keith Siegel, was one of the hostages in a video that Hamas released last week. You're wearing the number 208 to represent the number of days that he has now been held.

Hanna Siegel:

That's right.

Amna Nawaz:

As a policy, we don't show those videos, but I just wanted to ask what you thought when you saw him and when you heard his message.

Hanna Siegel:

Yes, it was surreal.

I mean, it's the first time that we have seen him or heard his voice in over 208 days. My aunt Aviva, who is a hostage survivor and was held and released in November in the cease-fire deal, they were held together. And so when she came out, she was able to tell us a little bit about how he's doing.

But since then, we didn't know if he was alive or how he was. I think there was an immense sense of relief just to hear his voice and see his face. And it's devastating. I don't know how to describe what it's like to look at a family member in that situation.

He talks. The first thing he says is "I love you and I hope you're OK" to our family. And he talks about Passover. And he also talks about hearing bombs nearby. There are so many facets to this and so many ways in which we're worried about him.

Amna Nawaz:

There is a moment in the video where he does break down. I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you and your family to watch that.

But how did he seem to you after all this time in captivity?

Hanna Siegel:

I mean, his voice, it's him. It's him. And that was one thing that gave me a lot of comfort.

But he's gaunt. He looks weak. He looks older. I — he's being held underground. I worry every single day. I remember when Aviva was released, she told me that they were starting to starve. And that was a long time ago. So I think about that a lot.

Amna Nawaz:

You know that a deal to release him remains stalled right now. And you said earlier this week something that stuck with me. You said you're don't — you're not sure, rather, that it's actually in Prime Minister Netanyahu's political interest to make a deal.

What did you mean by that?

Hanna Siegel:

You know, there have been deals on the table in the past. There's a lot that happens in these negotiations. It's hard to keep track. I'm obviously not on the inside.

But from what I do know, and from what I have seen, he hasn't made those deals. It hasn't always been clear that he's ready to lean in and prioritize the hostages over anything else. And so I guess what I would say is, I hope that Prime Minister Netanyahu prioritizes his own citizens, the hostages, before any political considerations and gets this deal done.

I think one thing that we have seen over the last six months and, frankly, throughout history with Hamas is that the deals don't get better.

Amna Nawaz:

Mm-hmm.

Hanna Siegel:

Weeks ago, we were talking about 40 hostages potentially in this next round. That number has gone down.

Every single day that goes by is another day that a hostage could die in captivity or another day where our family members aren't coming home. So, to me, this is the moment. This is our chance.

Amna Nawaz:

And U.S. officials have said that Israel has made significant concessions in this latest round of talks. But Hamas wants, in the second phase of a deal, a commitment to end the war in Gaza, which Netanyahu says he will not agree to.

Do you want him to make that deal?

Hanna Siegel:

I want him to bring my uncle home and everybody home. And I do think that bringing the hostages home is the first step to ending this devastation overall.

And that's really important. The political calculations, the back-and-forth, what he's saying, what U.S. officials are saying, I have sort of learned not to ride the roller coaster of that, if I can, until we know exactly what's happening.

But I want the hostages back. And so do millions of people all over the world. I know we have really felt that support.

Amna Nawaz:

You have talked about how support of the Biden administration has been, how you feel their support and that they are fighting for you and your family.

Your uncle is an American citizen, one of a handful of Americans held hostage right now. If you don't trust that Netanyahu will take the steps necessary to prioritize bringing home your uncle and the others, do you want President Biden to start to negotiate for the release of the Americans, at least?

Hanna Siegel:

I think we need to see what happens with this deal.

I think getting all of the hostages home is and should be the top priority. The Biden administration has made it very clear to me and my family from the beginning that they will do what it takes to bring the Americans home, including Keith. And so I have ultimate faith and trust in President Biden and Jake Sullivan and Secretary Blinken and their whole team, who's looking to bring these people home by any means necessary.

Amna Nawaz:

Do you think there's more that they could be doing to apply pressure on the Netanyahu government to make a deal?

Hanna Siegel:

Everything that I can see shows that they're doing absolutely everything that they can.

Amna Nawaz:

You mentioned that your aunt, Keith's wife, was freed back during that hostage deal that was made last November. Our audience may remember we spoke to her soon after her release.

I just want to ask you, how is she doing today?

Hanna Siegel:

Thank you for asking.

Aviva's incredible. I mean, she went through something that is unimaginable, and she came out and she decided she was going to spend every minute of every day fighting to get her husband, my uncle, and all of the other hostages out. She is so committed to this and fighting every day.

She is a hero. Her strength is incomparable.

Amna Nawaz:

We're glad she's home with you. We hope that your uncle Keith is home with you soon.

Hanna Siegel, thank you so much for being with us today.

Hanna Siegel:

Thank you, Amna.