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Underground cells, meager food and hope: Testimonies from captivity

Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon and Keith Siegel share details of their grueling 484 days in Gaza.

From left, Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon are freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza, Feb. 1, 2025. Credit: Courtesy.
From left, Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon are freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza, Feb. 1, 2025. Credit: Courtesy.

After 484 days in Hamas captivity, Yarden Bibas (35), Ofer Kalderon (54), and Keith Siegel (65) returned to Israeli territory on Saturday in the fourth round of the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Following their return, accounts of their ordeal, and those of other freed hostages, began to surface.

Yarden Bibas

Yarden Bibas, 34, Shiri Bibas, 32, and their children, then-9-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel, were abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7. Credit: Courtesy.

Freed hostage Tami Metzger shared with Israel’s Kan 11 public broadcaster an account of the time she spent in Hamas tunnels with Kalderon and Bibas.

“They would lock up Ofer and Yarden in cells. These were tiny cells that could barely fit two small people. Every afternoon, they would bring them up to join us for coffee and a hot meal. Later in the evening, they were returned to their cells,” she said.

“These became our first meetings with Ofer and Yarden. Eventually, Ofer went to stay with his daughter, while Yarden remained with our group for all the remaining days of my captivity. As for whether he knew exactly what had happened—I don’t think so. The lack of information was especially difficult for Yarden,” she continued.

Yarden Bibas was taken hostage together with his family on Oct. 7, 2023, but returned to Israel alone. Hamas claimed in November 2023 that his wife, Shiri, 33, and their two children—Ariel, 5 and Kfir, 2—had been killed.

His family is scheduled to be among the 33 hostages released during the first phase of the ceasefire, but Hamas has provided no clarification regarding their status.

Ofer Kalderon

Freed hostage Ofer Kalderon meets IDF troops, Feb. 1, 2025. Credit: Israel Defense Forces.

Beyond his stay in the tunnels with Yarden, Ofer Kalderon’s family revealed that in their initial conversations following his release, he described seeing his uncle on Al Jazeera speaking at a rally two weeks ago—a moment that provided him with crucial emotional strength.

Keith Siegel

Samuel Keith Siegel
Keith Samuel Siegel, 64. Credit: Courtesy of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Siegel, who was abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, revealed at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center-Ichilov that during his captivity, he had believed his son Shai was killed on Oct. 7. But then, he heard his son’s voice during a radio interview, he said.

He recounted being held alongside other hostages in Gaza City. According to his testimony, the terrorists frequently moved him to evade IDF detection. In one instance, they locked him in a room within an apartment, ensuring IDF soldiers wouldn’t find him even if they entered the building.

Keith described his final meal in captivity on Friday afternoon. He also said that despite being vegetarian, he had been forced to eat meat due to the severe food shortage.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.

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