Kan News reported fresh details from the hostages that recently returned from Hamas captivity.
By Rachel Avraham
According to a recent report in Kan News, as more abductees return from Hamas captivity, the extent of the severe psychological and physical torture that they were forced to endure is becoming apparent. On Kan News, new details have emerged regarding the psychological torture and extreme abuse that the hostages were exposed to.
A senior Israeli official testified: “The psychological terror that was exerted against the returnees is extremely difficult and particularly cruel.” All of the abductees were physically assaulted, some more and some less, with the most severe physical violence being directed at the young men. There are scars and burns on some of the bodies of the abductees to attest to this.
In some cases, there were beatings with terrorist weapons. In other cases, the abductees were abused by the families that held them, including the children, who even spat on them. The abductees who returned said that they had fallen ill more than once. Among other things, they experienced severe stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea, and were in a serious state of illness due to the poor quality of the food that was given to them.
According to the report in Kan News, Hamas gave the abductees expired food, which they were forced to eat due to the severe hunger that they experienced. Eating expired food caused them to get ill. On top of that, the abductees experienced psychological terror. “Your whole family is dead” and “Breathe because tomorrow you won’t be here” were some of the threats and psychological terrorism that Hamas employed on the abductees.
The report claims that Hamas all the time threatened the hostages with execution. Sometimes, the returned hostages testified, the terrorists would tell them that they would be released the next day and when the next day came, the terrorists would laugh in their faces.
During the initial interrogations, the returnees spoke about the other hostages that were held captive with them. In addition, signs of life were given for hostages that are set to be released in phase two of the deal. Upon the return of Yarden Bibas, Keith Segal and Ofer Calderon, their testimony revealed that in the last few days before their release, the terrorists began increasing the food rations given to the hostages, apparently so they would appear healthier upon their release.
According to the report, the hostages were forced to sign documents thanking their captors and the entire process was documented by Hamas. In addition, every few weeks, Kan News reported that they were forced to appear in unreleased films, in which they were required to speak to their families. In some cases, as part of the psychological abuse, the hostages were even forced to say goodbye to their families.
The three also spoke of their harsh condition in captivity, including the lack of food and their transfer from place to place, both above and below ground. It was reported that Keith Segal was held in Gaza City and was held alongside other hostages. According to the report, he also stayed in the tunnels, but mostly was hidden in apartments, where he said that the terrorists locked him in one of the interior rooms so that he could not be found if anyone entered the apartment.
In terms of nutrition, Keith said that there was a big shortage of food, with Keith Segal getting served food the afternoon the day before his release, Kan News reported. Despite being a vegetarian, Segal was forced to eat meat in order to survive. For months, he did not know what happened to his son Shai, who was with him in Kfar Aza on October 7. He testified that he realized his son was alive only after hearing him on the radio.
