‘All I want to do is cry’: Three years after the Hamas attacks, Israeli survivors remain trapped by trauma
Part of composite article Three years on, October 7 trauma still grips Israel as survivors relive 505 days in Hamas tunnels View full article →
Israeli communities shattered by the Hamas massacres are torn between rebuilding their lives and remembering lost friends and relatives.
Keith Siegel spent many of his long hours in Hamas captivity in Gaza etching everything that happened after 7 October 2023 into his memory. For 484 days, he recited to himself every place he was held, the dates he was moved and every attack or humiliation he endured or witnessed.
He aimed to store intelligence that could help Israeli forces free other hostages if he was released. He also wanted to keep track of time as the days slid by and to be able to tell his family what happened to him.
Now his body is free, but he cannot loosen those memories.