This is what we know about the lives of Israeli hostages in captivity

This is what we know about the life lived in captivity by the four Israeli hostages, who were released last Saturday.

None of the four hostages rescued from Hamas captivity in Gaza last Saturday spoke publicly about their experiences. Consequently, much remains unknown about the eight months he spent detained in Nuseirat refugee camp.

But over the past week, interviews with relatives and friends, as well as Israeli military and medical personnel, have begun to form a picture of what life was like in Hamas captivity.

He showed signs of abuse

The released hostages appeared smiling and cheerful in the pictures that spread around the world last Saturday.

But the head of the medical team that received them, Itai Pesach, says the seemingly healthy appearance was all about the adrenaline and fun of the rescue.

He said that the hostages, who were taken directly to a hospital on the outskirts of Tel Aviv after being rescued, were suffering from malnutrition and muscle wasting. New York times.

– All of them showed signs of being subjected to ill-treatment, punishment, and physical and psychological torture in a number of ways, says Pesach.

He remained in a dark room for six months

Almog Meir Gan, 22, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, reportedly spent six months in a dark room, where they slept on mattresses on the floor, he wrote. The Wall Street Journal. The three men spent their time playing cards, studying Arabic, teaching each other Hebrew or Russian, and writing in diaries to keep track of the days. They could hear the family of Palestinian children living downstairs, but they never met them. One time, when the family was out, they were allowed to go downstairs and use their kitchen.

Men were punished if they did not follow strict rules, including being locked in the bathroom and covered with blankets in the extreme heat. The brother of one of the hostages speaks CNN They were punished for small things, but the hostage takers did not try to leave physical marks on the hostages.

Few details have been revealed about the experience of Noi Argamani, 26, who was rescued from a house hundreds of meters away from the one where the men were.

– I'm not sure if the soldiers want to kill him or save him

Andrei Kozlov's mother, Evgeniya Kozlova, told the New York Times that her son was repeatedly given the same message by jailers: that the world had abandoned him and that his family was gone. Father Mikhail Kozlov narrates CNN The jailers told the son that the hostages represented a problem for Israel and that Israel wanted to kill them. Andre is said to have become convinced that when Israeli soldiers stormed the house where he was being held captive, he was not sure whether they wanted to kill him or save him.

Kozlov was reportedly shackled with his hands behind his back for the first two months, his parents told the Kan public broadcaster, citing Israeli media. The Times of Israel.

Hamas claims that it treated the hostages well compared to Israel's treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Establishes a local and tactical ceasefire

Although Israel rejoiced at the repatriation of the four hostages, Israel was heavily criticized for the large number of Palestinians killed in the rescue mission. According to Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza, 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 injured. Aftenposten did not have the opportunity to verify this number, and Hamas does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

Israel also faced severe criticism for preventing humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip. The United Nations says one million people in Gaza could reach the highest level of hunger by mid-July AP.

The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it would introduce tactical and local pauses in military activity to bring in more emergency aid.

– In order to increase the volume of emergency aid entering Gaza, and as a result of new discussions with the United Nations and international organizations, a local tactical pause in military activity will take place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, the IDF wrote on X.

The area where the rest stop will take place is the extension of the road leading from the Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel to the Salah al-Din Road and to the north.

The Israeli army later clarified that this did not mean a reduction in overall military activity in southern Gaza, and that the war in Rafah would continue as before.