Earlier this evening, recently released hostages who were freed in the current agreement spoke at Hostages Square, providing firsthand testimony about the urgent need to return all remaining hostages.
Hamas captivity survivors who delivered speeches: Sasha Troufanov, Iair Horn, and Keith Siegel. Standing alongside them was fellow Hamas captivity survivors Yarden Bibas, Aviva Siegel, and Yocheved Lifshitz.
Keith Siegel: “For 484 days, I was held inhumane conditions in underground tunnels—cramped spaces where I could not stand, deprived of air, light, sanitation, sufficient food, or water. Cut off entirely from my loved ones, I lived in constant uncertainty, not knowing who among my family and friends had survived on October 7th. My survival depended on armed terrorists. I witnessed firsthand acts of brutality—violence and cruelty that I never imagined possible between human beings in this day and age.”
“Today, the ceasefire has collapsed. For the 59 hostages still held in Gaza and their families this moment brings renewed fear—not only of the ongoing attacks but of a breakdown in negotiations that could bring them home. Every effort must be made to prevent further loss of innocent life and to ensure that diplomacy continues. This war must end, and all hostages must be returned to their families. It is not too late to save those still alive, and the families of those who were murdered deserve the right to grieve,” continued Siegel.
“President Trump, I am eternally grateful that you helped bring me home from captivity. I know you will not stop your efforts to secure the release of the 59 remaining hostages. We call on all mediators and the international community to exert maximum pressure on Hamas and all negotiating parties to resume talks and secure the immediate release of every hostage. Time is running out. We must act now,” he concluded.
Sasha Troufanov: “I stand before you as a hostage who survived and was released in the last deal along with 32 other hostages, to tell you this: Military pressure endangers the lives of the hostages!”
“Since I've returned, especially since this morning, I cannot stop thinking about my friends who are still there - Ariel, David, Rom, and all my brothers and sisters who are hostages, who I'm certain are going through hell because of the decision to resume fighting,” said Troufanov.
“The collapse of the ceasefire has taken me back to those difficult days when my life was in daily danger, and phrases like "the army has resumed fighting" or "the deal has fallen through, your government doesn't care about you" were said to me, along with the understanding that I was about to enter an even harder and darker period than before,” he added.
“In the agreement that brought me home, it was decided that on the 16th day, negotiations for Phase B would begin, which was supposed to continue the sequential return of my brothers and sisters. What happened to Phase B? Why are we willing to abandon them for an unknown period in the tunnels? How much longer are they expected to survive there until they're returned to their homes and loved ones? How much can we expect them to endure hell over and over without breaking? They are human beings, and their time is running out. Every minute there is endless hell and mortal danger.”
“To the decision-makers, I appeal to you: The fate of all the hostages and their return is in your hands,” he concluded.
Iair Horn: “I have returned after 498 days in Hamas captivity. I am here tonight to tell you that we must return to the negotiating table and achieve a ceasefire. Military pressure will not save the hostages – we know this from our own experience. We are here to support all the families of the hostages and all those still held in Gaza. I want you to hear from me that I and all the other released hostages cannot truly move forward and heal as long as they remain in captivity.”
He added, “My little brother Eitan was left behind in hell, and I feel as if one-third of myself was left behind. I feel that all the videos released recently, which you have also seen – of me and Eitan, of Matan Angerst, of Guy Gilboa Dalal and Evyatar David – all these videos that for us were signs of life, I hope they will not become our final farewell videos from them due to the return to fighting,” he pleaded.
“To the decision-makers I say: Do not forget that the absolute majority of the Israeli people support a deal to return the hostages, the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for burial. We call on the mediating countries and the international community to pressure Hamas to release all hostages immediately, and to demand that all parties urgently return to the negotiating table. We don't have time... they don't have time!,” Horn concluded.