By Rachel Avraham
The Times of Israel reported that over Shabbat, hostages Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed were released from Hamas captivity and returned to Israel in the largest single day of releases since the current hostage-ceasefire deal took effect. According to the report, Hamas paraded five of the six freed hostages on stages in propaganda-filled ceremonies in two locations in Gaza, handing them over to the Red Cross, while al-Sayed was released separately to the humanitarian organization later in the day, without a ceremony due to the fact that he is a Bedouin Arab and not Jewish.
During these atrocious ceremonies, Cohen was made to wave at the gunmen flanking him, while Shem Tov seemed to be directed by a Hamas cameraman to also kiss two of the masked gunmen on their heads. Cruelly, Israel Hayom reported that hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David were forced to watch their friends getting released from Hamas captivity in a nearby van, while they themselves remained in Hamas captivity.
Ilan Dalal, Guy Gilboa-Dalal’s father, told Channel 12 the following: “They forced them to watch their friends being released and then returned them to the tunnels, there is nothing more cruel than that. This shows the most urgent need to get them out of there. They cannot continue to go through this, it’s simply inhuman.”
The Times of Israel reported that all of the six men who were released were starved in Hamas captivity and appeared quite frail. Omer Shem Tov is in a dire condition due to the fact that he suffers from celiac disease and was not given the proper gluten-free diet in Gaza that his condition requires. According to the Jerusalem Post, his recovery faces an uphill struggle due to his diagnosis with celiac disease.
According to the report, if someone with celiac disease consumes too much gluten, it triggers an immune response that damages the lining of the small intestine, leading to nutrient absorption issues and various health complications. However, the lack of treatment for his celiac disease was not the only aspect of the mistreatment he endured. The Jerusalem Post reported that Shem Tov was forced to disguise himself as a Muslim woman and lowered into an underground tunnel in a bucket. He was spit on, cursed, and treated cruelly. He lost 17 kilograms in captivity.
Shaaban al-Sayed took aim at the Arab world’s failure to protect his mentally ill son, Hisham, the Jerusalem Post reported: “Now we are in a very difficult situation. From the beginning of the [2014] kidnapping, when there were four of them, I was sure that they would protect the hostages out of an interest in protecting them, but since October 7, when I saw them murder Bedouin and Arab people who were returned as bodies, [and] the Arab world never responded. I demand that representatives of the Arab public respond to what happened on October 7, and also what happened to Hisham – a mentally ill person was kidnapped.”
According to Al Sayed, his son returned in a horrific condition: “when I hugged him, I saw that I was hugging a lump of… he is not a human being. He looks like a human being, but he is not. He cannot speak. He has no voice or memory of anything. He gives the impression that he has not been with humans. We are angry and want an answer. I call for speeding up and bringing everyone home.” According to Israeli medical staff, Hisham exhibited signs of extreme psychological trauma, resembling someone who had endured years of torture.
Avera Mengistu, another long-term hostage, spoke very little, struggling to communicate. His family described his mental state as deeply concerning. According to Channel 13 News, the conditions of Mengistu and al-Sayed are so severe that medical personnel compared their psychological states to those of individuals who have endured years of forced labor and extreme isolation.
Eliya Cohen, one of the released hostages, recounted being shackled for extended periods, suffering deep cuts from the restraints, the Jerusalem Post reported. He and his fellow captives were primarily held in sealed tunnels with limited access to light. According to the report, Hamas terrorists would occasionally shine flashlights into their eyes, a form of psychological manipulation. They would also deliberately eat in front of the hostages, tormenting them with food deprivation. Cohen also learned only upon his release that his partner had survived the October 7 massacre. Cohen had surgery while in captivity to remove bullets with no anesthesia, according to details reported by Channel 12 news.
The Jerusalem Post reported that other hostages were shackled for months, starved, and left in complete darkness, their bodies wasting away. According to testimonies published by the Israeli media, the six freed hostages endured months of isolation, abuse, and deprivation in Hamas’s underground tunnel network.
