logo
'Part of us is still in Gaza': Freed Israeli hostages fight for a new ceasefire

'Part of us is still in Gaza': Freed Israeli hostages fight for a new ceasefire

BBC News09-04-2025

"This week is Passover - the festival of freedom," Liri Albag, an Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza for 15 months by Hamas, told a crowd of thousands gathered in Tel Aviv last weekend. "But what kind of freedom is it when 59 people are still in Hamas hell?"In recent weeks, powerful voices have joined the fight to bring home Israel's remaining hostages - those of the captives released during the latest ceasefire deal that began in January and lasted two months.Despite their ongoing trauma, frailty and grief, a number of ex-hostages have felt compelled to give their harrowing testimony on stage at demonstrations, in long TV interviews or in meetings overseas with world leaders.They have detailed their own harsh treatment and expressed fears for the fate of others left behind, especially since Israel cut off all humanitarian aid to Gaza at the start of March and restarted its military offensive two weeks later, saying this was to put pressure on Hamas.Twenty-four of those who have been held captive since the deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel of 7 October 2023 are still believed to be alive.Witnessing the collapse of the ceasefire has been unbearable, the former hostages say."We have no time. The earth is burning under our feet," insisted Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old farmer abducted by Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Kibbutz Nir Oz and freed in January, who also spoke at Saturday's rally in Hostages Square."I'm not really here. Only half of me is standing here," said Omer Wenkert, another former hostage, in his emotive address. "Part of us, part of all of us, is still captive in Gaza."He called on Israeli leaders to take action on the hostages saying: "Prime Minister Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, it's on you to get them back."
Many of the released hostages want a return to the original ceasefire deal which brought them home in exchange for some 1,800 Palestinians being freed by Israel.The agreement was meant to see a second phase in which remaining Israeli captives would be returned and the war would end.However, Israel now rejects this and is pushing instead for more hostages to be freed through an extension of the first phase of the truce.Hamas has agreed only to an extension involving the release of fewer hostages than Israel will accept, and ultimately wants to return to the original ceasefire framework.
Since appearing on stage, flanked by masked gunmen and looking pale and thin, at a Hamas handover ceremony in Gaza City in February, US-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel has turned into an active campaigner.He was part of a group of eight ex-hostages that met President Donald Trump in the Oval Office last month - crediting him with securing the recent deal that brought back 25 hostages and the bodies of eight others and urging him to help get ceasefire negotiations back on track."It's urgent and every day that goes on is just more and more suffering and more and more possible death and psychological devastation," Mr Siegel told 60 Minutes on the US network CBS.Mr Siegel described how he and others with whom he was initially held - including women and children - had been forced to adjust to life in the tunnels."We were gasping for our breath," he recalled.He said there was constant abuse: "I witnessed a young woman who was being tortured by the terrorist. I mean literal torture, not just in the figurative sense."
A prominent former hostage, Yarden Bibas, gave his first interview to 60 Minutes, speaking in English, hoping his powerful story and ceasefire message would reach the US president."I'm here because of Trump. I'm here only because of him. I think he's the only one who can stop this war again," Mr Bibas said. "He has to convince Netanyahu, he has to convince Hamas, I think he can do it."Hamas filmed the anguish of Mr Bibas after telling him in late 2023 that his wife Shiri and two children had been blown up in an Israeli air strike, although Israeli officials later said forensic evidence showed his boys were killed by their captors."They were murdered in cold blood, bare hands," Mr Bibas said, remembering how the men holding him used to taunt him over his family's fate. "They used to tell me: 'Ah, it doesn't matter, you'll get a new wife, you'll get new kids, better wife, better kids'."The small, red-haired Bibas boys, Ariel and Kfir, have become a symbol of the horror of the events of 7 October.
On the day in February that Yarden Bibas buried them with their mother, after their bodies were returned, thousands of Israelis turned out along the route of the funeral procession to pay their last respects.Given his ordeal, many were surprised to see Mr Bibas quickly turn to lobbying. But hours after Israel renewed its bombardment of Gaza on 18 March, he joined other former hostages standing in silent protest in Hostages Square.Mr Bibas told CBS how terrifying it was to be held in a tunnel when Israel's warplanes struck."You don't know when it's going to happen and when it happens, you're afraid for your life," he said. "The whole earth would move like an earthquake, but underground."He explained his constant fear for his best friend, David Cunio, who remains in Gaza with his brother, Ariel.Mr Cunio's wife Sharon and children were released in the first truce of the Gaza war in November 2023."I lost my wife and kids," Mr Bibas concluded. "Sharon must not lose her husband."
Eli Sharabi - like Mr Bibas, Mr Siegel and Mr Moses - was kidnapped from his home next to Gaza.When he was released, looking gaunt and hollow-eyed after nearly 500 days in captivity, it was clear his captors had not told him what most Israelis already knew - that his British-born wife, Lianne and teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were among some 1,200 people killed on 7 October.Just three weeks after his release, Mr Sharabi gave a heart-wrenching TV interview to Israel's Channel 12 TV. He described how he had learnt the fate of his family from a social worker he knew after the Red Cross handed him to the Israeli army."I said: 'Bring me my wife and the girls'," Mr Sharabi recalled, only for the social worker to respond: "Osnat [his sister] and your Mum will tell you.""Obviously there was nothing to tell, she had said it all," he went on, his voice breaking. "The worst disaster had happened."Mr Sharabi - who has since met Trump and addressed the UN Security Council - said he decided he must talk about his experiences even as he was processing his loss because: "It's very simple, no-one must be left behind."He described his painful goodbye to Alon Ohel, a young musician kidnapped from the Nova music festival with whom he was held in an underground cell in Gaza."I promised him that I wouldn't leave him there, that I would fight for him... I told him it's a matter of days, just days," he said.
Upon his release, Mr Sharabi and another released hostage were able to give Ohel's family the first proof that he was alive, even passing his sister a birthday message. However, they have also revealed he is unable to see in one eye due to untreated shrapnel injuries.Mr Sharabi has laid out how, in order to deal with his long captivity, he went into "survival mode" - a term several former hostages have used - observing: "Survival is made of little steps, little victories."He lost 30kg (66lb) and said that, as well as being beaten and humiliated, he felt "impossible" hunger during his captivity. He described how he and the three other hostages with him were given one meal a day and they would divide a single flatbread, or pitta, into quarters to share.Omer Wenkert, who was also seized from the Nova festival, told Channel 12 how he was kept in a 1m-by-1m cell. The lowest point in his life - he said - was being woken up to get hit with a metal rod to his head on his birthday.He related one crushing experience when he was desperately hungry and one of his captors told him to turn his back while food was laid out for him.Then, he said: "There were pittas on the filthy floor on a filthy nylon cover, which was full of sand and fungi, and on top of it a block of cheese with a giant mould growing on it."
On Fox News Digital, Tal Shoham, narrated how he and two other men - Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David, who remain in captivity - were moved in an ambulance that Hamas used for discreetly transporting hostages to a tunnel, to be held with Mr Wenkert. Their toilet was a hole in the ground.He said they were monitored by cameras, often beaten and randomly deprived of food and sleep.The guards, he said, continued to dig underground passages even as war raged on. "Hamas never stopped digging tunnels," Mr Shoham remarked. "Not for a single day."The situation was so bad both he and Mr David developed serious infections but were not seen by a doctor."My leg turned blue, yellow, and purple with internal bleeding," he explained. "They gave us blood thinners, fearing we might develop clots from prolonged immobility. Eventually, they realised the issue was malnutrition and provided us with vitamin supplements for seven days. It tasted like dog food, but it dramatically improved our condition."
Other hostages said they were kept in solitary confinement. Gadi Moses has said he resorted to pacing his cell and solving mental maths problems to deal with this "psychological abuse".He told Channel 12: "The depth of the fear, the depth of disconnection from the world, the depth of the unknown - it's impossible to convey.""You start having terrible thoughts," admitted Omer Shem Tov, who was taken hostage at the Nova festival and also kept in isolation, speaking to Israeli public broadcaster, Kan. "Every day feels like an eternity."While Mr Shem Tov praised the Israeli military in his interview, saying it was doing "holy work" in Gaza, he insisted the government had to make a new ceasefire deal and prioritise the hostages. He commented: "I don't know if you understand it... but you are breaking them."
Fears for the lives of those still held captive have been heightened since Hamas recently stated it would not move living hostages out of the large areas where the Israeli military has ordered evacuations.The armed group has previously threatened to execute hostages if Israeli troops approach the locations where they are held. In August, Hamas killed six hostages in Rafah after Israeli forces moved in nearby.Liri Albag, who was 18 and had finished her army training only two days before she was snatched from her base on the Gaza border, gave her first in-depth TV interview in March."The truth is that 7 October feels like one long nightmare, and I've been waiting for someone to wake me up, for someone to tell me I was dreaming. But that didn't happen. Unfortunately, this has all been real," she told Channel 12.Like other hostages, she has recounted her terror when she was first taken to Gaza. "[We saw] the Gazan masses surrounding us, standing on the sides, clapping, whistling, dancing... [Palestinians] ran after us, happy, firing in the air. Children, women, old people."She said her experience led her to conclude that there are no "innocent bystanders" in Gaza.
Scenes from the territory broadcast on 7 October, combined with the testimony from hostages that has now emerged, have hardened Israeli views when it comes to the suffering of Palestinians.In the devastating Gaza war triggered by the Hamas attacks, more than 50,846 people have been killed - most of them women, children and the elderly - according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, used by the UN."As long as the hostage issue is still on the table, the emotional ability of Israelis to empathise with the Palestinians is close to zero," says Professor Tamar Hermann, an expert on public opinion at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI).Nevertheless, the latest surveys do indicate widespread support for a new ceasefire and hostage release deal.When the IDI recently asked Israelis which of the state's declared war goals - toppling Hamas or bringing home all the hostages - was more important, 68% said it was the latter, more than in polls last year.Meeting at the White House on Monday, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu said there were ongoing efforts to restart truce talks and free the hostages."We're trying very hard to get the hostages out. We're looking at another ceasefire, we'll see what happens," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office."We're working now on another deal that we hope will succeed," Netanyahu said. "The hostages are in agony, and we want to get them all out."Despite his strong words, many of the former hostages question Netanyahu's commitment.For his political survival, the prime minister relies on far-right allies who back continued fighting in Gaza and military occupation of the strip.
Some of the freed hostages have openly accused the Israeli government of betrayal and abandonment and, in some cases, they have drawn vicious online threats for their comments.No wonder, then, that many continue to pin their hopes on Trump.Along with Keith Siegel and his wife Aviva, another recently released hostage, Yair Horn, followed Netanyahu to Washington this week. The group had their own set of meetings with high-ranking officials and again met the president.Mr Horn wore a red hoodie showing his younger brother, Eitan, who is still held in Gaza. The brothers were abducted together from Nir Oz and a haunting video released by Hamas showed them on the eve of Yair's release - hugging, with Eitan weeping.
A day after Trump's Netanyahu meeting, Mr Horn stood with the US leader at a Republican event and stressed his gratitude to him."It's really surreal to be here, you know," he said. "I'm a simple man. I'm running the bar in the kibbutz in Nir Oz, where I lived. And now, I'm here with President Trump, who is running the world."Mr Horn asked "humbly" for "the last push" to bring home the remaining hostages, including his brother.Sounding in despair, he also reflected on how Passover was approaching with the traditional Seder meal. The major Jewish holiday celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and so has special poignancy for the freed hostages and those still captive in Gaza, like Eitan."In a few days we mark Passover... it's a family time," Mr Horn told the audience, his voice cracking. "I hope my little brother can sit with us at the Seder."

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Greta 'mistreated and mocked' by dancing Israeli officials before deportation
Greta 'mistreated and mocked' by dancing Israeli officials before deportation

Daily Mirror

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mirror

Greta 'mistreated and mocked' by dancing Israeli officials before deportation

French doctor Bapiste Andre was on 'freedom flotilla' with Greta Thunberg - he said the group were subject to 'mockery' when they were intercepted by Israeli officials An activist on the 'freedom flotilla' boat with Greta Thunberg has said the latter was mistreated by Israeli officials. There "were acts of mistreatment" according to Baptiste Andre, who spoke to French media after the group of 12 were brought to the port of Ashdod. Mr Andre, a doctor, said there were 'no acts of physical violence', but that they were subject to sleep deprivation and 'mockery' by Israeli officials. He said this was 'especially' focussed on Ms Thunberg. 'As soon as [ Thunberg ] fell asleep, the immigration services came to wake her up' he claimed, adding that music was turned loud and members of the immigration services 'danced in front of us'. ‌ ‌ Adding there was some difficulty for the detainees in gaining access to food, water and toilets, Andre said: 'It took three hours to get a piece of bread.' On X, the Israeli foreign ministry said: 'The passengers of the 'Selfie Yacht' arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries. Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority.' Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said Thunberg was party to ' Instagram activism'. Israeli officials have received criticism after calling the group anti-semitic amid their attempts to bring food to people in Gaza. The UN has warned Gaza's population is at risk of famine. Ms Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen, a ship carrying aid to Gaza. Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early on Monday about 125 miles off of Gaza's coast, according to the coalition, which along with rights groups, said Israel's actions were a violation of international law. Israel rejects that charge because it says such ships intend to breach what it argues is a lawful naval blockade of Gaza. ‌ Speaking upon arrival at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, Ms Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Freedom Flotilla. She described a 'quite chaotic and uncertain' situation during the detention. The activist added the conditions they faced 'are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now'. 'We were well aware of the risks of this mission,' Ms Thunberg added. 'The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.' She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza.

Head of controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation refuses to reveal who funds it
Head of controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation refuses to reveal who funds it

NBC News

timean hour ago

  • NBC News

Head of controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation refuses to reveal who funds it

TEL AVIV — The new executive chairman for the controversial American-backed humanitarian organization distributing aid in the Gaza Strip refused to reveal the donors who are financing the agency, though he did tell NBC News that to his knowledge the group is not funded by the Israeli government. Johnnie Moore, an evangelical Christian and former PR consultant who advised President Donald Trump during his first term, was appointed executive chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) last week as the organization reeled from the resignation of his predecessor. It has also faced criticism from the United Nations and aid groups for a lack of independence from Israel, which backs the organization along with the U.S. Since it started operating late last month, the group has set up aid distribution sites in Gaza in response to international pressure over serious malnutrition in Gaza, where Israel recently lifted an 11-week complete blockade on food, aid and medical supplies entering the enclave. But regular bouts of deadly violence in and around those sites has also brought increasing scrutiny on the GHF's source of funding and the degree of autonomy it has from Israel. In an exclusive interview with NBC News last week, Moore said it was 'a private foundation.' 'Like lots of private foundations, you know, it doesn't disclose its donors,' he said. 'Anything that we do and anything that we say publicly is going to distract from the mission, and we have one mission, just one mission, which is to feed Gazans.' Pressed on accusations that Israel was financing and controlling the organization, Moore said that 'based upon what I know, this is an independent initiative that is not funded by the Israeli government.' Other questions have also swirled around the GHF, even before it launched four aid distribution points in southern and central Gaza. A day before it began operations in the strip, Moore's predecessor Jake Wood resigned, saying in a letter published by Reuters that continuing to work with the group would compromise his 'neutrality, impartiality and independence.' United Nations agencies and major aid groups that previously ran hundreds of community kitchens and bakeries in the enclave have also refused to cooperate with it, saying it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to decide who receives aid, forces widespread displacement in Gaza, and concentrates distribution in areas that may not be accessible to everyone. Setting up so few sites for food distribution meant crowd control problems were inevitable, according to Ciaran Donnelly, the senior vice president for international programs at the International Rescue Committee, which ran major relief operations in Gaza. 'No aid organization would recommend doing it that way,' he said. Inside Israel, as well, critics have questioned its independence. Last month in front of Israel's legislature, opposition leader Yair Lapid, without providing evidence, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of funding the GHF through foreign shell companies. And last week, citing unnamed public officials, Israel's public broadcaster, Kan, reported that the Israeli government had sent hundreds of millions of shekels to the group. Israel's government has repeatedly denied it funds the GHF. Any organization 'being used by occupying powers' would not be able to carry out its task according to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and independence, said Philip Grant, the executive director of TRIAL International, a Geneva-based nongovernmental organization that advocates for victims of war crimes. TRIAL International has called on the Swiss government to investigate GHF, whose only registered presence outside the U.S. is in Geneva. While the GHF has said it is working to open new sites, including in northern Gaza, no such distribution points have opened yet, forcing some Palestinians with advanced injuries and disabilities to walk long distances for aid — often through dangerous areas and extreme heat. Such onerous requirements for something as basic as food could amount to war crimes, Grant said, and could even lead to accusations that organizations like GHF are complicit. 'This operation comes with a huge risk in terms of violations of the Geneva Conventions,' Grant said. 'Especially the forced displacement of populations, which, if carried out, would be a participation in the war crime of enforced displacement of civilian population.'

Genocide Convention not considered by Central Bank when approving Israel Bonds
Genocide Convention not considered by Central Bank when approving Israel Bonds

Belfast Telegraph

timean hour ago

  • Belfast Telegraph

Genocide Convention not considered by Central Bank when approving Israel Bonds

However, Gabriel Makhlouf said the intensity of the conflict in Gaza does put 'a question mark over whether the financial viability' of Israel remains secure. The Central Bank is the designated authority in relation to the sale of Israel Bonds in the EU, and has determined the securities meet the standards of the bloc's prospectus regulations. Israel Bonds have been advertised as supporting the country's economy, and more recently, websites promoting the securities emphasise their role in supporting Israel's military operations in Gaza. Protesters and opposition parties have called for legislation that would give Ireland the power to refuse the sale of Israeli 'war bonds' over human rights concerns. They say the bonds are intended to fund the war in Gaza, while Ireland has an obligation under the Genocide Convention to use all means likely to have a deterrent effect on those suspected of preparing genocide. Demonstrators rallied outside Leinster House on Wednesday as the head of the bank appeared before the Finance Committee, before a Dail vote calling on the Government to take action to prevent the approval of the bonds. Mr Makhlouf said the Central Bank must carry out the statutory tasks and functions it has been assigned. He said it was 'incorrect' to say the bank could refuse to approve the Israeli bond prospectus on the basis of international law rulings and opinions. 'The Central Bank cannot impose sanctions on Israel, for example by refusing to approve the Israeli bond prospectus, in circumstances where the EU has not imposed any such sanctions itself.' Asked by Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty if the Central Bank subscribes to the Genocide Convention, the governor said the authority has to operate within the legal framework allocated to it, but added that the Genocide Convention does not feature in the EU prospectus regulation. Pressed on whether it applied to the bank overall, Mr Makhlouf said 'it applies to the state' and added that, with regard to approving prospectuses: 'In that sense no, it doesn't.' Under similar questioning from Social Democrats' deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan, deputy governor Mary-Elizabeth McMunn said: 'Ireland is the contracting party under the Genocide Convention. It does not explicitly say the Central Bank is a contracting party under the Genocide Convention.' Asked if he believed what was happening in Gaza was genocide, Mr Makhlouf said that was a legal concept determined by the ICJ and no one at the Central Bank could comment authoritatively as experts on that matter. He added: 'But what's clear is that what is happening in Gaza is appalling, horrific.' The governor said everyone at the Central Bank wants to see 'an immediate end to hostilities by all parties'. The Israel Bond prospectus is up for renewal in September. Asked by Labour finance spokesman Ged Nash what factors the bank would be looking for in engagements with Israel at that point, Mr Makhlouf replied: 'I think the intensity of the conflict in in Gaza probably does put a question mark over whether the financial viability of the state still remains secure. 'The fact that the European Union has indicated that it's going to look at its co-operation agreement of Israel, I think that's a factor. The fact that the [Israeli] finance minister has just been sanctioned by a number of countries, that may be a factor.' He said it would be up to Israel to assess whether these factors affect its financial standing when putting together the prospectus, but added that the bank would be required to approve the next prospectus if all matters are completely disclosed. Meanwhile, Mr Makhlouf said national restrictive measures could be imposed by the Oireachtas to stop the approval of the prospectuses, if they were consistent with EU law. However, he said he would find it 'difficult' to say that it is 'possible' to do that in this case, because one member state acting on its own would undermine the whole prospectus regulation. He said he had not taken legal advice on this and added that he was 'not ruling out' the possibility. 'Prospectus regulation doesn't just apply to states, it applies to corporates, it applies to anybody who wants to issue a regulation in certain circumstances. 'So what I'm not ruling out is the possibility that some domestic legislation could prevent an individual corporate being able to issue security in certain circumstances, but this is real hypothetical stuff.' Mr Doherty asked if the Central Bank would deem the ICJ findings a 'risk' for an investor who wishes to purchase Israel Bonds. Mr Makhlouf said the case taken by South Africa against Israel was included in the September prospectus that was approved by the bank. Gerry Cross, the bank's director of capital markets and funds, added that it was the authority's belief that it was articulated and disclosed to the level that is required. Mr Cross later told the committee that the Bank had made approximately 13,300 euro in fees through its work relating to the bonds since October 2023.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store