Freed American hostage Keith Siegel thanks Trump for saving his life

A former Israeli-American hostage who was freed earlier this year said he was thankful to President Trump for securing the deal that saved his life — as he hopes the latest US proposal will do the same for the friends he was forced to leave behind.

Keith Siegel, 66, said Sunday that he was optimistic that the Trump administration will be able to secure the cease-fire deal to free the remaining 48 hostages being held by Hamas, including the four people he met while being tortured inside the terror group’s tunnel network.

“I am eternally grateful to President Trump for saving my life and returning me to my family,” Siegel told ABC’s “This Week.”

“I am optimistic. I am always optimistic,” he said of the current deal being hashed out between Israel and Hamas. “But until all of my four friends I met in captivity… until they are all released and back home with their families, I still continue my mission to advocate for their release.”

Siegel spent 494 days in captivity until he was freed in February during the short-lived cease-fire deal the Trump administration helped secure.

During the majority of his days as a hostage, Siegel said he would spend his days alone, stuffed inside Hamas’ terror tunnels with “very little food, very little water.”

“I spent time in the tunnels, suffocating 33 feet underground, gasping for breath,” Siegel recalled.

Eventually, Siegel would come to meet twins Gali and Ziv Berman, noting that the brothers had been injured and separated by Hamas.

Siegel also met Matan Angrest, one of the men who tried to protect the American’s home during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, as well as Omri Miran, who was featured in a Hamas propaganda video in April.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them,” Siegel said. “I would have never imagined that I would be free, and all the hostages that I knew are still there in captivity.”

The 66-year-old said it was paramount for the current cease-fire deal to go through as he recalled Hamas’ cruelty and the torture he witnessed inside the terror tunnels.

Siegel said he was regularly beaten and berated by the terror group, with the Israeli-American witnessing how one of the female hostages was tied up and beaten and stabbed by Hamas members with a metal rod.

“There are still 48 innocent people being held hostage by Hamas terrorists. They’re in a life-threatening situation,” he said.

“They are suffering for almost two years, and we must bring them back.”