Keith Siegel, a Chapel Hill man held hostage by Hamas for 484 days, is telling his story on social media.

Keith Siegel was the first American hostage released Feb. 1 as part of the current ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. On Friday, his remarks were featured in a post on the Instagram page Bring Them Home Now.

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"I am a 65-year-old American citizen," Keith Siegel said. "I love country music and pancakes on Saturday morning, but that was my previous life. Since Feb. 1, I am a newly released Hamas hostage. I am a survivor."

Keith Siegel was born in North Carolina and grew up in Chapel Hill. He moved to Israel as a young man, where he met his wife, Aviva.

The couple were taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, during a Hamas-led attack that killed more than 1,000 people in Israel and led to hundreds being kidnapped.

"I was held for 484 days in unimaginable conditions, and every single day felt like it could be my last," Keith Siegel said. "When I was in Gaza I lived in constant fear for my life and for my personal safety. I was starved and tortured both physically and emotionally, and when the war intensified the terrorists who held me treated me even worse than usual. Terrorists kicked me, spat on me and held me with no water, no light and no air to breathe."

In the video, Keith Siegel credits President Donald Trump for his release.

"President Trump, you are the reason I am home alive. You are the reason I was reunited with my beloved wife, four children and five grandchildren," he said. "Thank you for your continued fight against terror and for your bold leadership that has brought me and many others back home to our families, to safety and to security."

A post shared by Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow)

Keith Siegel's wife was released in November 2023 during a temporary ceasefire deal.

Earlier this month, Aviva Siegel spoke to the public for the first time since her husband's release. She echoed her Keith Siegel's latest remarks, thanking Trump for her husband's release.

The Associated Press reports that both Trump and former President Joe Biden claim credit for Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

CNN reports Biden administration officials said momentum toward a deal began before the election and acknowledged Trump’s entry into office was a motivating factor in finalizing the deal. The deal was announced on Jan. 15, before Trump took office, but Trump has been recognized for his forceful remarks, including that “all hell would break out” in Gaza if the hostages were not released before his second inauguration.

Friday on Instagram, Keith Siegel said Trump's "leadership, power and authority" were "necessary to enforce the ceasefire and put an end to the unecessary daily dangers to the lives of innocent hostages and civilians."

In 2023, after her release, Aviva Siegel described to WRAL News the conditions she and her husband faced while in captivity. She said she and her husband were in their pajamas when they were kidnapped.

"I was scared all the time," Aviva Siegel said. "I was threatened there that I would be killed all the time."

Aviva Siegel described the conditions for hostages as "the worst conditions any human being should be in."

"They didn't have any food," she said. "They were just left there alone in a place that they couldn't even stand up straight because it was so narrow."

She said she nearly died underneath the ground.

"Keith and I were sure that we were going to die," she said. "All we did is lay down on the floor on a filthy, dirty mattress and try to breathe."

WRAL News on Saturday will have the opportunity to interview Keith Siegel's sister. Look for that coverage on WRAL-TV and WRAL.com this weekend.