Families reveal torture and starvation endured by Hamas hostages

The hostage Alon Ohel waves to his friends who were waiting for him at the hospital after being released from Hamas captivity as part of the deal to free the hostages and end the war. Photo / Getty Images

Hostages were beaten unconscious, tortured, starved, and chained up inside tunnels for months by Hamas in Gaza, family members of those released earlier this week have said.

As Israel continued to celebrate the return of 20 abductees, details have begun to emerge about their brutal treatment at the hands of Hamas.

Family members have given a glimpse of savage beatings and degrading behaviour that became worse following the resumption of the war in March.

They have also said that Hamas tried to use hostages as human shields during Israel’s final offensive to seize Gaza City in recent weeks.

Some have confirmed their loved ones are traumatised and unable to speak much about their ordeals.

Hostages released under previous agreements – and their families – tended to be cautious about revealing the details of their ordeals in case it jeopardised the safety of those still held captive.

Former Israeli hostage Avinatan Or arrives at the Beilinson hospital in Petach Tikva, near Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo / Getty Images

With that fear now lifted, Israel is bracing itself for a torrent of distressing information, just as its Government is under pressure to negotiate the second phase of Donald Trump’s peace plan.

Anat Angrest, mother of abducted soldier Matan Angrest, told Channel 12 news that his son was severely abused following his capture from his tank on October 7, 2023.

“He remembers being beaten so badly that he lost consciousness,” she said.

“They covered him with black sacks and dragged him away.”

Adding to the horror of his abuse at the hands of his jailers, Angrest also suffered repeated terrifying episodes as a result of Israeli airstrikes, when the walls of the tunnels collapsed around him.

“Many times they found themselves buried under the rubble, trying to climb out and survive,” she said.

Angrest’s family already had some idea about the extent of his suffering because of the testimony of previously released hostages.

They recounted how the soldier’s chronic asthma and breathing troubles were exacerbated after his frequent violent interrogations by Hamas jailers.

The mother of Alon Ohel said he was chained in the same tunnel for almost the entire two years he was held captive, but added that 40 days ago, he was unexpectedly moved to a new tunnel located in the centre of the Gaza Strip, a journey that took hours.

The IDF said this was to use him as a human shield to prevent Israel from taking the city.

Some hostages were held in total isolation.

Ariel Cunio only found out that his brother David, who was also released on Monday, and girlfriend Arbel Yehoud, who was released in January, were alive upon being released himself.

Elkana Bohbot also spent most of his time in captivity, chained in tunnels, where he lost all sense of time and space, his family said.

Despite this, he remembered his wedding day and demanded that he be allowed to take a shower in honour of the occasion.

The Hamas guard initially refused, but then granted the request, according to reports.

Matan Angrest’s mother said her son had begun to give some details of the abuse he suffered in the early days after his abduction.

“Every now and then he tells a few sentences. He went through very severe torture in the first months when he was defined as a soldier... I don’t know where he got these strengths from.”

She told N12: ”He didn’t remember how he was actually kidnapped, but he did remember the battle, and he guessed that his friends were killed that morning.

“He has flashbacks where he loses consciousness and occasionally opens his eyes, the kidnapping, the beating of him, the covering of him with black bags, the abuse of him... He’s been through a lot.”

Evyatar David’s father told Israeli media that his son had suffered both physical and psychological abuse during captivity.

In August, Hamas released a video of him being forced to dig his own grave.

His skeletal condition was compared to those of Holocaust victims, and intensified calls for negotiations to be restarted on the basis that the hostages were gravely ill.

He is thought to be losing sight in his right eye because of his incarceration.

In arguably the most severe case of isolation, Avinatan Or was held alone for the whole two years and did not encounter any other captives until his release on Monday.

He was reportedly held in tents, rather than tunnels, in one of the vast refugee areas in central Gaza.

He has lost between 30% and 40% of his body weight, according to reports.

Experts at the hospitals currently treating the returned hostages have previously warned that after the euphoria of reuniting with their loved ones, family members need to learn to give the individual space, so as to avoid overwhelming them and allow them to begin to process their ordeal.

After his release, Or spent a quiet moment with his girlfriend, the former hostage Noa Argamani, the two sharing their first cigarette for two years.

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