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New York Times
10-02-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Israeli Hostages' Accounts of Abuse Raise Alarms for Remaining Captives
Bound. Starved. Wounded. Tortured. These are the conditions that some hostages being held in Gaza still face, according to information their families said they had received from Israeli military and security officials after Hamas released three captives on Saturday as part of a cease-fire agreement. The emaciated appearance of three hostages released in a ceremony in Gaza staged by Hamas last weekend — Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34; and Ohad Ben-Ami, 56 — and the details of their captivity have relatives of the remaining captives sounding the alarm about the urgent need for the continuation of the phased cease-fire deal. The urgency comes as the militant group said on Monday it would indefinitely postpone the next hostage releases, set for Saturday, citing Israeli cease-fire violations. Before they were handed over to Red Cross officials in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, the frail, painfully thin hostages were paraded onstage before a crowd in the city of Deir al-Balah, Gaza, each holding a Hamas-issued 'release certificate,' and made to recite words written for them — including thanks to the militants who had held them for 16 months. A doctor in charge of overseeing the treatment of two of the freed Israeli hostages later said they were in poor condition. The third was in a 'severe nutritional state,' according to an official at the hospital where he was being treated. Hamas has said it treats its captives benevolently. Under the first phases of the cease-fire deal, the armed Palestinian group agreed to free 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight who were killed, in exchange for about 1,500 Palestinian prisoners. So far, about half of those exchanges have been carried out. Hamas on Saturday denounced 'the brutal treatment of our prisoners' by Israeli officials. 'This includes ongoing assaults, torture, and disregard for age or the severe health conditions suffered by many prisoners,' it said in a statement, highlighting what it said was the difference in treatment between the hostages and the prisoners. Idit Ohel, whose son Alon Ohel turned 24 on Monday and was spending his second birthday in captivity in Gaza, told reporters at a news briefing that she had learned from military sources who had spoken with the most recently released hostages that her son was receiving very little food and no medical care for multiple injuries, including an eye injury that has left him partially blinded. Mr. Ohel, who was captured at the Nova Music Festival during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, has been held bound for much of the time and was tortured, she said she had learned from Israeli military officials. 'It was not easy to hear,' Ms. Ohel said. 'I must say that I even fainted.' 'I don't think there's a mother in this world that would even be able to sleep,' knowing their child was enduring such suffering, she added. Similarly, Sigi Cohen, the mother of another hostage, Eliya Cohen, who was 26 when captured, said by phone on Monday that she had learned from Israeli security forces that her son — who was shot in the leg during the 2023 attack on Israel — has also not received treatment for his injuries. Her son reportedly sees almost no sunshine and has been bound throughout most of his nearly 500 days in captivity, she added. The New York Times could not independently confirm the information. A spokesman for the Israeli military, reached by phone, declined to comment on Monday, citing the sensitivity of the topic. The recently freed hostages' reports about what they and others have endured align with the accounts of some of other captives freed since the first phase of the cease-fire agreement went into effect last month. And Dr. Hagai Levine, who leads the medical team for the Hostage Family Forum, an umbrella group, told reporters on Monday that the hostages had been 'starved' and endured 'intentional torture,' and that many had returned home with infections that could become a threat, as well as emotional damage. 'The findings are clear and deeply alarming,' he said. 'They are subject to deliberate starvation and severe water deprivation' and 'are undergoing extreme physical and emotional abuse.' 'There is a clear and present danger to all of the hostages' lives,' Dr. Levine added. He said that any delay in the release of hostages would 'probably cost lives.' The relatives of some of those recently released have also described details of the hostages' experiences — and the dire state they are in now. 'Yesterday, my brother Or returned to us after 491 days of hell,' Michael Levy said in a statement on Sunday. His bother had been held in Hamas tunnels and returned to Israel a shadow of the man he once was, his brother said. 'I hugged him, but he wasn't the same Or who left home on October 7th,' Mr. Levy said, noting that his brother had returned 'in poor physical condition and spent 16 months 'hungry, barefoot and in constant fear' that every day could be his last. But the 'hardest blow' came on Saturday, he said, when his brother learned that his wife, Einav Levy, had not survived the attack at the Nova music festival. The latest details about the conditions under which some of the hostages were held came as the fragile truce appeared to be fraying. Ofer Calderon, who was released earlier this month, said in a statement on Monday, 'I was held in tunnels without seeing daylight, had no access to media, experienced severe hunger conditions, went entire months without showering or receiving proper care.' He called for a continuation of the cease-fire and noted that after the first temporary deal of the war was struck between Israel and Hamas, in November 2023, the conditions during his and other hostages' captivity had 'severely deteriorated and became brutal.' 'We must not stop the current deal and must continue working to free all the hostages.' Mr. Calderon said. 'Hamas is a cruel enemy who will not hesitate to harm the hostages left behind.'
Boston Globe
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Hamas makes gaunt Israeli hostages thank captors before release
For Hamas, the heavily choreographed hostage handover reinforced the group's message that, despite a devastating war in the Gaza Strip that killed thousands of its members and much of its leadership, the group remains in power there, defying Israeli leaders' vow to wipe it out. Advertisement In a statement on the hostage release, Hamas said, 'This confirms that our people and their resistance have the upper hand.' Hamas claims it has treated its captives benevolently, but many Israelis saw the images as almost unbearable evidence to the contrary. Three frail, painfully thin hostages were paraded on a stage before a crowd in the city of Deir al-Balah, each holding a Hamas-issued 'release certificate,' and made to mouth words written for them. Gideon Saar, Israel's foreign minister, invoked the defining Jewish trauma of the last century, writing on social media, 'The Israeli hostages look like Holocaust survivors.' The spectacle Saturday was sure to reinforce pressure from some Israelis for the government to find a way to recover all of the remaining hostages in Gaza. For others, it will bolster the view that Israel should resume the war after the first six-week phase of the ceasefire expires March 2, rather than negotiate a long-term peace. What happens next is far from certain. Advertisement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said after the releases Saturday that he had ordered Israeli authorities to 'take appropriate action' over violations of the ceasefire but did not specify what those actions might be. On Sunday, Israeli forces are scheduled to withdraw farther east along a key corridor in central Gaza to enable more Palestinian freedom of movement. The three Israelis released Saturday by Hamas — Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34; and Ohad Ben Ami, 56 — were among about 250 people abducted during the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that touched off the war. About 75 have not been returned, and roughly half of those are believed to be dead. The ceasefire deal calls for the release over six weeks of 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight others who were killed, in exchange for more than 1,500 Palestinians held by Israel. The Palestinian prisoners include people detained in Gaza during the war but never charged with a crime and others serving life prison sentences for violent crimes. So far, 16 living hostages and about 550 Palestinian prisoners have been released. Hamas and Israel are supposed to be negotiating terms for the second phase of the truce, which would end the war and free the remaining hostages. But it is not clear that the two sides can come to an agreement. Israel has vowed not to end the war if Hamas, which took control of Gaza in 2007, is still in charge there. Hamas has rebuffed that demand and made repeated shows of force during the ceasefire, with heavily armed men — rarely seen in public during the fighting — patrolling the streets and fanning out to control the areas where hostages have been turned over. Advertisement The three Israelis freed Saturday were taken to hospitals in central Israel to receive medical care and be reunited with loved ones. The freed Palestinians were taken to Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and in both locations, some were taken to hospitals. Several were also slated to be expelled abroad, and it was not immediately clear where they will end up. In Ramallah, a huge crowd greeted the arrival of a Red Cross bus carrying freed prisoners, who are seen by many Palestinians as valiant fighters against an occupying enemy. At least some were convicted of involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis, who view them as terrorists. Many of the released Palestinian prisoners were in visibly poor condition, appearing frail and thin. A few were limping and required assistance. Palestinian prisoners have recounted serious allegations of abuse in Israeli jails, particularly during the war in Gaza. The Israeli prison service has said it treats them in accordance with the law. Israeli forces raided the West Bank family homes of at least four of men before their release, warning their relatives not to celebrate their freedom. Israel has been particularly assertive in suppressing celebrations for detainees released under the current ceasefire, fearing that they may bolster the popularity of Hamas. One of the prisoners whose family home was raided was Jamal Tawil, a senior Hamas leader in the West Bank, who had been imprisoned multiple times on accusations that included planning bombings against Israel. He was taken directly to a hospital in Ramallah after his release. 'He is struggling to breathe and is very weak,' said his daughter, Bushra Tawil, a journalist and activist who was released in an earlier exchange last month. 'I was shocked when I saw him. He had been beaten on the head and other parts of his body until the very last moments before his release.' Advertisement She said her family had been threatened with arrest if they publicly celebrated his return. The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on her allegations. Another Palestinian whose home on the West Bank was raided, Shadi Barghouti, was serving a 27-year sentence for being an accomplice to murder, amid other charges, according to the Israeli Justice Ministry. Family members said his father, Fakhri Barghouti, 70, was beaten during the raid. The Barghoutis, father and son, had overlapped in prison. The elder was convicted in the 1978 killing of an Israeli bus driver but was released in a 2011 prisoner deal with Hamas. Fakhri Barghouti was waiting at the Ramallah Cultural Palace when his son arrived Saturday — the first time they had met outside prison since 1978. They were both tearful but smiling as Shadi Barghouti knelt upon seeing his father. Another released Hamas militant, Iyad Abu Shkhaydem, now 50, had been serving 18 life sentences, in part for planning the 2004 bombings of two buses in Beersheba, in central Israel, that killed 16 people. In Israel, the government published footage of Levy embracing his parents and brother as they met for the first time since he was taken hostage. 'My soul, we missed you so much,' his mother could be heard saying. In the Israeli town of Be'eri, where Ben Ami and Sharabi were both abducted, residents gathered in the local pub to watch the release live on television, said Haim Jelin, a resident and former Israeli lawmaker. Advertisement 'People were joyous and shouting as they were coming out of the car. But as soon as we saw them, there was total silence. People started to cry,' Jelin said in an interview. 'It was gut-wrenching.' The Hostage Families Forum, which represents relatives of the captives, issued a swift statement condemning the 'distressing images' from the handover and called for the immediate release of the remaining captives. 'Everyone must be brought home, down to the last hostage,' the forum said. This article originally appeared in
