A former Israeli-American hostage, who gained his freedom earlier this year, expressed gratitude to President Trump for negotiating the deal that saved his life. He hopes this recent US effort will similarly rescue the friends he was forced to leave behind.

Keith Siegel, 66, shared his optimism on Sunday, believing the Trump administration could secure a cease-fire agreement to free the 48 remaining hostages held by Hamas. Among these captives are four individuals he encountered while enduring torture in 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 hopeful—always hopeful,” Siegel remarked regarding the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas. “But my mission to advocate for their release persists until all four friends I met in captivity return home to their families.”

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.”