Celebrating with them under the chuppah were former hostages Emily Damari, Liri Albag, Agam Berger, and Amit Soussana.
Shir Siegel had put her wedding plans on hold for nearly two years, waiting for her parents to come home.
This week, former hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel finally walked their daughter down the aisle, but they weren’t alone under the traditional Jewish wedding canopy.
Keith and Aviva Siegel were among 253 people taken hostage when Hamas terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Aviva was released after 51 days during a brief November 2023 ceasefire, but Keith remained in captivity for 484 days until his release this week.
Cover image credit: Shir Siegel, center, is hugged by her parents, former hostages Keith, left, and Aviva, during her wedding on August 7, 2025. (Paulina Patimer)
Celebrating with them under the chuppah were former hostages Emily Damari, Liri Albag, Agam Berger, and Amit Soussana.
Together they recited the Shehecheyanu blessing—a prayer of gratitude for reaching significant moments. As they spoke the ancient Hebrew words, “Blessed are You, Lord our God, who has given us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this moment,” it marked an extraordinary reunion of people who had endured some of the darkest chapters of the October 7th massacre.
During the early weeks of their captivity, several of these brave women were held together with Keith and Aviva Siegel.
Albag developed a particularly close relationship with Keith, helping pull him out of depression when he seemed to be losing hope.
“Keith and Aviva were like parents to her,” according to reports from their time in captivity.
All six had been moved repeatedly between locations—apartments, tunnels, and safe houses—as their captors tried to avoid Israeli military operations.
They were separated and reunited multiple times during their imprisonment, sometimes held in underground tunnels with little light or fresh air for extended periods.
After reciting the Shehecheyanu blessing together, the group celebrated as Keith serenaded his daughter with James Taylor’s “Carolina on my Mind,” a nod to his North Carolina roots.
Video footage showed the former hostages dancing together, their joy unmistakable despite everything they had endured.
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