According to the Jerusalem Post, the hostages were held in tunnels and other hideous hiding places, which were full of lice, bedbugs, mold, and mildew. According to the report, they were barely fed and given salt water to drink, which was not suitable for human consumption.
By Rachel Avraham
The Jerusalem Post recently reported that Sagai Dekel-Chen, Iair Horn and Sasha Troufanov, who were released on Saturday, suffered from horrendous conditions while in Hamas captivity. Although they appeared better upon release than last week’s hostages, appearances are rather deceiving. The Times of Israel reported that upon release, the three men looked thin and pale, and Horn seemed to be limping, even though they fell short of appearing like Auschwitz survivors. N12 reported that Hamas wrongly insisted that some of the hostages were soldiers, using continual interrogation and torture to try to obtain intelligence from them.
Dekel-Chen, Sasha Troufanov and Iair Horn were all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were seized as hostages, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, Dekel-Chen and Horn were held captive by Hamas, and Troufanov was held by allied terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the hostages were held in tunnels and other hideous hiding places, which were full of lice, bedbugs, mold, and mildew. According to the report, they were barely fed and given salt water to drink, which was not suitable for human consumption. N12 added that because many of the hostages were wounded by Hamas terrorists and did not receive proper medical treatment, they may have to undergo surgery.
Dekel-Chen especially was interrogated throughout his time in captivity, including through physical torture, N12 said. According to the report, this has resulted in physical scars on his body. KAN added that he was shot in the right shoulder on October 7, but did not get treatment for this injury in Gaza. The Jerusalem Post reported that he was also unaware of his family’s fate, cut off from all means of communication for nearly 15 months. During the hostage release, Hamas told him that his wife had given birth to a daughter while he was in captivity, which he didn’t believe until it was confirmed by the IDF.
“Sagui hasn’t seen daylight since October 7,” Sagui Dekel-Chen’s wife, Avital, told the Jerusalem Post. According to the report, he did not know what happened to his wife or his daughters on October 7 and only learned they were alive the day before his release. Avital said that Sagui told her, “It’s nice that people write 498 days, but really, it’s more accurate to say we were there for over 43 million seconds of hell.”
Avital Dekel Chen, Sagui’s wife, told Arutz Sheva: “Yesterday, after a year and four months, Sagui met his daughters again. Watching Gali and Bar run to their father, and Shahar seeing her father in person for the first time instead of in photos – alongside the great joy of having Sagui home, I couldn’t help but think of all the children still waiting for their fathers to return. In Israel, we have small children separated from their fathers, waking up each day asking when daddy will come home. We must do everything to ensure this question isn’t asked anymore and their fathers return home.”
At one stage early on, Horn was held with his brother Eitan, who is not slated for release in the first stage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal, the Times of Israel reported. According to various reports in the media, they were not held together recently. After he was separated by force from his brother, Iair was forced by his captors to film a video in which he talked about Eitan, Kan reported. This caused him psychological distress. According to the Times of Israel, he lost 10 kilograms (22 lbs.) in weight.
Alexander Troufanov’s girlfriend, Sapir Cohen, said that Troufanov told her on Saturday night that throughout his captivity, he prayed for her to find a man she loved and hoped she would not wait for him, the Jerusalem Post reported. According to the report, he told her he did not believe he would survive and didn’t want her to wait for a man who would never come home. Troufanov’s mother, Lena, said that Sasha was shot in both legs during his kidnapping and said it was a “clear miracle” that he could stand and walk. During his captivity, he was cut off from the news and only learned of his father’s death after he was released, which caused him to burst into tears.
Sapir Cohen, Sasha’s girlfriend, told Arutz Sheva: “Since October 7th, I’ve realized my life’s dreams – dreams I never expected to have: returning home alive from captivity in Gaza and getting to embrace Sasha again. God protect us. I want to thank the people of Israel, both here and worldwide, especially those who acted in their own ways and did everything possible to change this twisted reality, to lift us up daily and give us hope. I also thank the decision-makers who chose to fulfill this most sacred commandment, and we must continue on this path to bring everyone home.”
